Cedar Falls, IA – Anthony James had 16 points to help Northern Iowa take a 57-52 victory over No. 15 Wichita State on Saturday.
Marc Sonnen scored nine points while Seth Tuttle added eight points and eight rebounds for the Panthers (12-11, 5-6 MVC), who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Carl Hall posted 20 points and five rebounds while Cleanthony Early scored 10 points with six boards for the Shockers (19-4, 8-3), who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Northern Iowa held a 52-48 lead with 1:37 to play after James hit a free throw, but Hall followed up with a layup at the other end.
James countered with another two free throws with 1:10 to play, but Malcolm Armstead quickly put in a layup to again make it a two-point game.
Hall then gave his team a chance to tie the game after blocking a Jake Koch layup attempt, but Tuttle countered with a block of Nick Wiggins at the other end and went to the free throw line with 13.8 seconds to play.
He hit one of his attempts and the Shockers had a chance to tie the game, but Armstead dribbled the ball off his foot and out of bounds with 5.9 to play and Tuttle sealed the win on a slam dunk.
The Shockers scored the first six points of the game, but the Panthers answered with the next 12.
That was the largest lead either team had in the first half and the game went into the break tied at 23-all.
Wichita State again started strong and potted the first seven points of the second half, but a 14-0 run from Northern Iowa saw the team hold a 46-36 advantage after James put in a jumper with 7 1/2 minutes left.
The Shockers countered with a 9-3 run to get back in the game and it stayed close from there.
Game Notes
Wichita State plays at Southern Illinois on Tuesday ... Northern Iowa hosts Missouri State on Tuesday ... Wichita State shot 40.4 percent, but committed 13 turnovers ... Northern Iowa made 40 percent of its attempts.
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