Northern Iowa stays hot with win over Southern Illinois
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Carbondale, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Seth Tuttle and Paul Jesperson each scored 13 points in the 18th-ranked Northern Iowa Panthers' 59-52 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis on Wednesday.
Tuttle also had 10 rebounds and three steals for the Panthers (19-2, 8-1 MVC), who have won eight in a row. Nate Buss tallied 11 points.
Northern Iowa shot 52.6 percent from the field, while holding Southern Illinois to 39.2 percent.
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Ibby Djimde ended with 10 points off the bench for the Salukis (9-13, 2-7), who have lost two straight. Deion Lavender and Jalen Pendleton had eight points apiece.
Trailing 13-5, Southern Illinois went on a 13-1 run. Lavender tallied eight points during the surge to make it 18-14 with 6:50 left in the first half.
The Salukis led 26-23 at the break and held a 32-30 margin early in the second half.
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But the Panthers responded with a 26-6 run to take control. Jesperson tallied seven points during the burst and Tuttle ended it on a layup to make it 56-38 with 5:33 to play.
Southern Illinois ended the game on a 14-3 spurt, but the comeback ran out of time.
Game Notes
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The Panthers also beat the Salukis on Jan. 7. However, Southern Illinois leads the all-time series by a 31-26 margin ... Northern Iowa returns home Saturday to take on 12th-ranked Wichita State.