EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — D.J. Balentine scored 17 points and Evansville came all the way back from 16 down to beat Number 23 Northern Iowa 52-49 on Thursday night. Egidju Mockevicius added 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Purple Aces (11-2, 1-0 Missouri Valley Conference). Jaylon Brown made four free throws in the last 7 seconds to seal it.

Seth Tuttle led UNI with 18 points, but fouled out in the final minute. Nate Buss added nine for the Panthers (11-2, 0-1). For one half, Northern Iowa’s swarming defense completely frustrated Evansville, holding the Purple Aces to 20 points in the first 20 minutes as the Panthers built a lead as large as 16.

But the second half was a different story.