Illinois State holds off Northern Iowa 65-61

NORMAL, Ill. - Jackie Carmichael had 19 points and 10 rebounds as Illinois State withstood Northern Iowa's late 12-0 run and prevailed 65-61 in a Missouri Valley opener Thursday night.

Jon Ekey also had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Redbirds (9-3), who won their fourth straight. Nic Moore added 13 points and Anthony Cousin 11.

Anthony James led the Panthers (10-3) with 21 points but shot only 9 of 25. Chip Rank added 11 for Northern Iowa, which has lost two in a row.

Carmichael and Ekey scored six points apiece as Illinois State opened the second half with a 12-2 run for a 40-30 edge with 14:35 to go.

Moore's 3-pointer pushed the lead to 59-46 with 5:57 left

Northern Iowa came back furiously, running off 12 straight points to get within 59-58 with 1:56 left. But Cousin hit six straight free throws to help seal it.

N. IOWA (10-3)

Tuttle 2-4 2-2 6, Koch 0-4 0-0 0, Mitchell 1-4 0-0 2, Moran 3-10 0-0 6, James 9-25 0-0 21, Rank 4-7 0-0 11, Morrison 1-2 0-0 3, Sonnen 3-7 0-0 8, Pehl 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 25-67 2-2 61.

ILLINOIS ST. (9-3)

Ekey 4-6 0-0 11, Carmichael 9-16 1-4 19, Cousin 2-4 5-6 11, Moore 5-9 1-2 13, Wilkins 2-9 3-4 7, Brown 1-2 0-0 2, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Upshaw 0-0 0-0 0, Threloff 0-0 0-0 0, Hill 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-47 10-16 65.

Halftime_Tied 28-28. 3-Point Goals_N. Iowa 9-28 (Rank 3-5, James 3-7, Sonnen 2-5, Morrison 1-2, Mitchell 0-2, Koch 0-3, Moran 0-4), Illinois St. 7-14 (Ekey 3-3, Cousin 2-3, Moore 2-5, Brown 0-1, Wilkins 0-2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_N. Iowa 30 (Tuttle 7), Illinois St. 38 (Ekey 13). Assists_N. Iowa 12 (Koch 5), Illinois St. 14 (Moore 4). Total Fouls_N. Iowa 17, Illinois St. 11. A_5,265.