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          Northern Iowa stays perfect at home with 64-52 win

          Feb 24, 2020
          • Associated Press

          CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Austin Phyfe had 17 points, 18 rebounds and five assists to help lift Northern Iowa to a 64-52 win over Southern Illinois on Sunday, the Panthers' 15th consecutive home victory.

          The Panthers (23-5, 12-4) have a one-game lead over Loyola Chicago in the Missouri Valley Conference with two games remaining. The Salukis (16-13, 10-6) dropped into a third-place tie with Bradley.

          Isaiah Brown added 15 points for Northern Iowa (23-5, 12-4 Missouri Valley Conference).

          Southern Illinois led 34-26 at halftime but scored a season-low 18 points in the second half when Northern Iowa used a 20-0 run to take control at 60-43 with four minutes left.

          Barret Benson had 11 points for the Salukis (16-13, 10-6) as did Eric McGill. Lance Jones had 10 points.

          The Panthers leveled the season series against the Salukis with the win. Southern Illinois defeated Northern Iowa 68-66 on Jan. 22.

          Northern Iowa matches up against Evansville at home on Wednesday. Southern Illinois takes on Indiana State at home on Wednesday.

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          Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com