Jake Koch scored 13 points and Northern Iowa rallied late to defeat Illinois State 46-44 Wednesday night.
The Panthers (12-6, 3-3 Missouri Valley) trailed 42-37 with 6:09 to play before scoring the next seven points. After the Redbirds tied it at 44 on Jackie Carmichael's jumper with 3:08 to play, Anthony James scored the winning points on a layup with 2:30 remaining.
James scored six of his 10 points during Northern Iowa's game-ending 9-2 run.
Blake Mishler had 10 points to lead the Illinois State (8-9, 0-6), which has lost six in a row. The Redbirds missed four shots in the final two minutes, including Anthony Cousin's 3-pointer that bounced off the rim with 2 seconds left.
Northern Iowa led by 10 points in the first half and 23-21 at halftime.
