National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Northern Iowa 74, South Dakota State 63
When: 3:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 28, 2014
Where: McLeod Center, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Officials: # Tim Fitzgerald, # Keith Kimble, # Hal Lusk
Attendance: 6333

No. 24 Northern Iowa 74, South Dakota State 63: Nate Buss scored a season-high 14 points off the bench as the Panthers held off the visiting Jackrabbits.

Wes Washpun added 12 points and Seth Tuttle finished with 11 points and nine assists for Northern Iowa (11-1). Paul Jesperson added 10 points off the bench for the Panthers, who shot 57.8 percent.

George Marshall scored 16 points and Deondre Parks finished with 15 for South Dakota State (9-5). Zach Horstman matched his season high with 13 points and Iowa native Reed Tellinghuisen led the reserves with 10.

Northern Iowa seized control with a 13-0 run for a 31-18 lead with 4:59 left in the first half. The Jackrabbits, who went just over five minutes without a field goal, managed to trim the deficit to nine at the half.

South Dakota State turned the ball over on three straight possessions early in the second half and the Panthers were able to match their biggest lead at 14. The Jackrabbits went from 11 points down to five in 37 seconds as Tellinghuisen made back-to-back 3-pointers, the second with 6:19 remaining, but Buss ended the run with a 3-pointer on the other end and the Jackrabbits were out of comebacks.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Marshall made six starts as a redshirt freshman at Wisconsin in 2012-13 and was playing in his fifth game since becoming eligible for the Jackrabbits. … Tuttle and Washpun came in a combined 12-for-16 from 3-point range this season and went 1-for-3 against the Jackrabbits. …. Northern Iowa's bench, which came in ranked 11th in the nation at 32 points per game, scored 45.
Top Game Performances
 
South Dakota State   Northern Iowa
George Marshall 16 Scoring Nate Buss 14
Jake Bittle 3 Assists Seth Tuttle 9
Cody Larson 6 Rebounds Wyatt Lohaus 4
Zach Horstman 4 Free Throws Made Seth Tuttle 6
Jake Bittle 1 Steals Deon Mitchell 3
N/A Blocks N/A
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
South Dakota State 63 45.1 7-22 10-11 6 27 0 1 11
Northern Iowa 74 57.8 7-17 15-21 14 22 0 9 7