CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Northern Iowa’s Seth Tuttle saw the eyes of Wichita State’s Nick Wiggins light up under the basket, so he threw his arms to the sky in hopes of getting a piece of the ball.
Tuttle got the block and the rebound - then finished off the 15th-ranked Shockers with a victory-clinching dunk 11 seconds later.
Anthony James scored 16 points and Northern Iowa beat 15th-ranked Wichita State 57-52 on Saturday, sending the slumping Shockers into their first losing streak of the season.
Wichita State scored a season low and is averaging 53.5 points in their past two games, both losses. Carl Hall led the Shockers (19-4, 8-3) with 20 points - just two less than the starting lineup had.
“We’ve got to play better,” Wichita State Coach Gregg Marshall said. “We’re having a hard time scoring.”
Tuttle had a lot to do with that.
He had 8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks for the Panthers (12-11, 5-6 Missouri Valley Conference). They took control with a 14-0 run in the second half and became just the fourth Missouri Valley team in the past 23 games to beat Wichita State at home.
The Shockers pulled within 52-50 on Hall’s steal and basket with 1:18 left. Tuttle blocked the Wiggins try that would have tied it with 15 seconds left and then sealed the victory with a breakaway dunk after a Malcolm Armstead turnover.
“It was a good play, and we were fortunate enough to grab it,” Tuttle said of his rebound.
The Shockers, who lost to Indiana State on Tuesday, have dropped a game behind league-leading Creighton in the Missouri Valley race.
They gave up sole possession of first place when they lost to the Sycamores, snapping a 19-game home winning streak.
Wichita State started and finished this one in much the same manner.
The Shockers went over seven minutes without scoring in the first half, allowing Northern Iowa to take an early edge. But Wichita State steadied itself long enough to pull even at halftime, 23-23.
The Shockers then jumped on the Panthers with seven quick points, but the Panthers responded behind two Marc Sonnen threes, jumping back ahead 37-36.
Sonnen had 3 threes and James had 13 in the second half for Northern Iowa, which scored 23 of the game’s next 29 points after falling behind 30-23.
“Anthony James got hot,” Marshall said. “It’s hard to win on the road.”
In another Missouri Valley game, Doug McDermott scored 25 points, including nine during a decisive 12-0 run, and No. 21 Creighton (20-3, 9-2) won 75-58 over visiting Bradley (13-10, 5-6).
ATLANTIC 10 Butler gets going
INDIANAPOLIS - Former Arkansas Razorback Rotnei Clarke scored 23 points, Roosevelt Jones added 18 and No. 9 Butler beat Rhode Island 75-68 on Saturday.
Clarke scored 12 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half. The Bulldogs (18-4, 5-2 Atlantic 10) trailed 32-30 at the break, then went on a 15-3 run.
Nikola Malesevic led Rhode Island (6-14, 1-6) with 18 points in the Rams’ fourth consecutive loss.
Butler began the game looking like the team that lost 75-58 at Saint Louis early in the week. The Bulldogs went down 25-16 in the first half - their largest deficit of the game.
Marshall scored 10 of the Bulldogs’ first 14 points, getting the majority of his points off hustle plays and high-flying dunks. Marshall finished with 13 points, despite only playing nine minutes in the second half.
The Bulldogs came storming out to start the second half, looking like the team that has beat three top-10 teams this season. They held Rhode Island without a field goal until the 13:24 mark of the half.
Jones helped Clarke set the tone throughout the opening run in the second half for Butler. He scored nine of the points in the swing.
Sports, Pages 29 on 02/03/2013