UNI turns it on in second half

Before the biggest game of its season looming at the end of the week, No. 18 Northern Iowa had a hurdle to cross in Missouri Valley Conference foe Southern Illinois.

The Panthers (19-2, 8-1 MVC) had not won at SIU Arena since the 2011-12 season, and at halftime trailed, 29-26.

But hot shooting and a return to form on defense got UNI a second-half lead as big as 18 before holding on to win, 59-52. The Panthers were led by Paul Jesperson, who tied a career-high with 13 points, and Seth Tuttle, who got his second straight double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. It sets up a matchup of identical 19-2 records with No. 12 Wichita State at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Cedar Falls.

The full release from UNI Athletics is below:

'CARBONDALE, Ill. — The University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team won its eighth straight games with a 59-52 triumph at Southern Illinois on Wednesday night.

UNI (19-2, 8-1 MVC) used a 22-3 run in the second half to rally from a halftime deficit and tally its eight league win a row. SIU (9-13 overall, 2-7 MVC) was held to 39.2 percent shooting in the game.

UNI bounced out to a 10-2 lead as junior Paul Jesperson drained the first of his two-first half three-pointers with 12:54 on the clock. But SIU responded with a 16-4 run to give the Salukis an 18-14 lead with 6:49 remaining. The Salukis would eventually take a 26-23 lead at the intermission.

The Panthers trailed 32-30 but went on a 22-3 run to take a 52-35 lead with 7:05 left in the game. UNI made its first five 3-pointers of the second half. UNI drained seven of its first eight shots in the second 20 minutes.

UNI eventually led by 18 points at 56-38 with 5:31 left in the game. SIU closed the game on a 14-3 run.

UNI's Seth Tuttle recorded his 20th career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Paul Jesperson tied a career-high with 13 points as he drained his first three 3-pointers of the game. Senior Nate Buss tallied 11 points off the bench.

No. 18-ranked UNI will return home on Saturday to take on the No. 12-ranked Wichita State Shockers in a sold out McLeod Center. UNI and Wichita State will tip at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN2.

NOTES: UNI is 9-2 in road/neutral games this season … UNI held its 14th opponent to less than 40 percent shooting as the Salukis shot 39.2 percent for the game … UNI has held 16 opponents to 58 points or less this season … UNI's 8-game MVC winning streak is its second-longest MVC winning streak in school history — trailing only an 11-game streak in the 2008-09 season.