Northern Iowa wins 4th straight, 61-54 over Evansville

Jan 25, 2018, 10:50 pm

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Bennett Koch had 17 points, Luke McDonnell added 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Northern Iowa led the entire way in a 61-54 win over Evansville on Wednesday night.

Klint Carlson added 11 points for the Panthers (9-11, 4-5 Missouri Valley), who made won 9 of 10 free throws in the final two minutes to secure their fourth win in a row to follow a seven-game losing streak.

Northern Iowa had its largest lead at 33-15 late in the first half and weathered the Purple Aces' 13-5 run to start in the second half. Evansville got as close as 40-35 on Ryan Taylor's jumper with 13:36 left. The Panthers pushed the lead back to 14, and Evansville then cut the deficit to 54-48 in the final two minutes.

Jaylon Brown had 13 points, and David Howard and Taylor added 11 points each for the Aces (10-12, 1-8).