Northern Iowa escapes with 64-60 win over Rice

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - Deon Mitchell scored 16 points, Anthony James added 14, and Northern Iowa held on to beat Rice 64-60 Friday in a South Padre Island Invitational game.

Jake Koch had 10 points for the Panthers (4-1), who were up 55-45 with 3:26 to play. Arsalan Kazemi, who led the Owls (4-1) with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Tamir Jackson, who scored 15, powered a 12-6 run that got Rice within four, 61-57, with 10 seconds left.

After a Koch free throw, the Owls' Connor Frizzelle, who scored 10 for the game, hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left to make it 62-60. Two free throws by James sealed the victory, Northern Iowa's third straight.

Kazemi's double-double was his fourth in five games. He came in averaging 11.8 points and 12 rebounds per contest.

Despite Kazemi's efforts, UNI outrebounded Rice 35-31 and outscored the Owls 13-5 on second-chance points.

RICE (4-1)

Kazemi 7-11 4-7 18, Kuipers 2-4 0-0 4, Jackson 5-11 5-8 15, Frizzelle 4-9 1-1 10, DeBose 3-10 0-0 7, Ibrahim 1-3 0-0 3, Schwarze 0-0 0-0 0, Reischel 0-0 0-0 0, Chadwick 0-2 0-0 0, Ennis 0-3 1-4 1, Oraby 0-0 0-0 0, Gearhart 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-54 11-20 60.

N. IOWA (4-1)

Tuttle 2-4 2-2 6, Koch 3-5 4-6 10, Mitchell 6-9 2-3 16, Moran 1-6 0-0 3, James 4-7 4-6 14, Rank 2-5 1-1 6, Singleton 1-2 0-0 2, Sonnen 2-7 0-1 5, Martino 0-0 0-0 0, Pehl 1-2 0-2 2. Totals 22-47 13-21 64.

Halftime_N. Iowa 34-24. 3-Point Goals_Rice 3-16 (Frizzelle 1-3, Ibrahim 1-3, DeBose 1-3, Kuipers 0-1, Ennis 0-2, Jackson 0-4), N. Iowa 7-18 (James 2-3, Mitchell 2-3, Rank 1-2, Sonnen 1-4, Moran 1-4, Koch 0-2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Rice 31 (Kazemi 12), N. Iowa 35 (Singleton 6). Assists_Rice 6 (Frizzelle 2), N. Iowa 7 (James, Koch 2). Total Fouls_Rice 15, N. Iowa 15. A_556.