UNI survives against Illinois State on Buss 3-pointer

No. 19 Northern Iowa survived another road game in the Missouri Valley Conference on Sunday night, overcoming a double-digit deficit in the second half to win, 54-53, against Illinois State.

UNI won after a 3-pointer by forward Nate Buss with 5.2 seconds left.

A switch to a zone defense by the Panthers (18-2, 7-1 MVC) led to a 1 of 14 stretch from the field for the Redbirds (12-8, 4-4). The win extended UNI's winning streak to seven games after the conference-opening loss at Evansville.

The Panthers are next in action at Southern Illinois on Wednesday.

The full news release from UNI Athletics is below:

'NORMAL, Ill. - The University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit and scored a 54-53 win at Illinois State on Sunday.

UNI's Nate Buss drained a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left to give the Panthers a 54-53 lead. UNI's Marvin Singleton sank his first 3-pointer of the season with 2:55 left to complete a comeback that saw the Panthers trailed 46-34 with 10:48 remaining in the game.

UNI improves to 18-2 overall and 7-1 in Missouri Valley Conference action. Illinois State drops to 12-8 overall and 4-4 in MVC play.

UNI will travel to Southern Illinois on Wednesday to take on the Salukis. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

NOTES: UNI's Seth Tuttle scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds ... it marks the 19th career double-double for Tuttle and the 17th time he has scored 20 or more points ... Tuttle also became only the second player in UNI history to tally 1,500 points and 800 rebounds - joining Eric Coleman on that elite list ... UNI held Illinois State to 34.4 percent shooting from the field.

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