Northern Iowa turns back Southern Illinois 58-49

CEDAR FALLS - Deon Mitchell scored 17 points and keyed a go-ahead rally late in the game as Northern Iowa defeated Southern Illinois 58-49 on Tuesday night.

Chip Rank added 13 points, including two 3-pointers, as the Panthers (15-9, 5-7 Missouri Valley) snapped a two-game losing streak.

Jeff Early's 13 points led the Salukis (7-16, 4-8), who have lost five of their last six. Mamadou Seck had 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

Mitchell's 3-pointer put Northern Iowa ahead 41-39 with 6:44 left, giving the Panthers their first lead of the second half. That started a spurt in which Mitchell and Johnny Moran combined for the Panthers' next 14 points, creating a 52-47 edge with 3:38 to go.

Northern Iowa endured a scoreless streak of 6:56 in the first half and trailed 22-19 at the break.

The Panthers have won seven of the teams' last eight meetings.

S. ILLINOIS (7-16)

Seck 5-11 0-0 10, Brown-Surles 1-4 0-0 3, Lindsay 3-7 0-1 9, Daniels 1-5 7-9 9, Early 6-10 0-0 13, Goff 1-2 0-0 2, Bocot 0-3 1-2 1, Taylor 0-2 0-0 0, Whitt 1-6 0-0 2, Setty 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-51 8-12 49.

N. IOWA (15-9)

Mitchell 3-11 10-13 17, Tuttle 3-4 3-5 9, Moran 4-7 0-0 9, Koch 0-3 0-0 0, Sonnen 2-5 1-1 5, Rank 4-4 3-5 13, Morrison 0-4 3-4 3, Martino 0-2 0-0 0, Pehl 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 17-41 20-28 58.

Halftime_S. Illinois 22-19. 3-Point Goals_S. Illinois 5-16 (Lindsay 3-6, Early 1-2, Brown-Surles 1-3, Whitt 0-1, Setty 0-1, Bocot 0-3), N. Iowa 4-13 (Rank 2-2, Mitchell 1-2, Moran 1-4, Morrison 0-1, Sonnen 0-1, Martino 0-1, Koch 0-2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_S. Illinois 33 (Seck 8), N. Iowa 32 (Moran 6). Assists_S. Illinois 8 (Goff 4), N. Iowa 11 (Sonnen 3). Total Fouls_S. Illinois 22, N. Iowa 14. A_3,466.