Northern Iowa holds on to beat No. 25 Wichita State, 53-50

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The better the opponent, the better Northern Iowa seems to play.

That was the case when the Panthers beat then-No. 1 North Carolina in November.

Same thing when they knocked off then-No. 5 Iowa State in December.

It was certainly the case Saturday, when Klint Carlson and Wyatt Lohaus led them to a 53-50 victory over No. 25 Wichita State, ending the Shockers' nation-leading 43-game home winning streak.

''You saw nine guys that wanted it more than they did,'' said the Panthers' Matt Bohannon, who had a critical 3-pointer late in the game. ''We played pretty tough today.''

The Panthers (16-11, 8-6 Missouri Valley) blew a 15-point second-half lead before pulling back ahead on consecutive baskets by Lohaus with about 6 minutes left in the game.

The Shockers (18-7, 12-2) got within 53-50 when Shaq Morris made the second of two free throws with 40.2 seconds left, then got the ball back when Wes Washpun had his shot blocked with 10 seconds to go.

Ron Baker missed a potential tying 3 at the other end, but the ball bounced off a Northern Iowa player out of bounds. Given another chance, the Shockers got the ball to Connor Frankamp in front of his own bench, but his 3-pointer bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

''What they've done to get to 43 straight at home is to be commended,'' Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson said. ''That's a difficult thing to do. Everybody knows that.''

Carlson had 12 points and Lohaus had 11 for the Panthers, who won their second game over a ranked team in the road in the same building as their first: They beat the Shockers on Dec. 30, 2006.

Baker finished with 12 points and six assists, but he was just 5 of 16 from the field and 2 of 10 from beyond the arc. Fred VanVleet had eight points on 3-for-15 shooting.

''It was hard to score,'' said coach Gregg Marshall, whose Shockers shot just 30 percent from the field as a team. ''They came in and held us to 50 points. That doesn't happen very often.''

The game was nip-and-tuck through much of the first half, but Northern Iowa's zone eventually slowed down the Shockers. They missed 10 of their next 11 field goal attempts, including a blown layup in the final minute, and the Panthers closed with a 12-0 run for a 38-27 halftime lead.

It was the first time Wichita State trailed at the half since Nov. 29, 2015, in a loss to Iowa.

The Panthers pushed their advantage to 42-27 in the opening minutes of the second half before the Shockers, usually so poised playing Koch Arena, mounted their big comeback.

Markis McDuffie hopped off the bench to start a 17-2 run with a 3-pointer, and VanVleet - who had missed his first four shots - curled in two 3s. Anton Grady and Rashard Kelly added buckets at the rim, VanVleet made a nifty layup and McDuffie capped the surge with another basket.

Even after all that, the score was still 44-all.

Both teams fell into a prolonged offensive slump, but the Panthers were the first to break out of it. Lohaus hit consecutive jumpers to give Northern Iowa the lead, and Matt Bohannon - his school's top 3-point leader - knocked down his third of the game to make it 51-44 with 5 minutes to go.

The Shockers made one last run that eventually ran out of time.

''Obviously guys are disappointed. Upset,'' VanVleet said. ''It's one thing to play your best and play really good and lose. It's another thing not to play good.''

ABOUT THE STREAK

The Shockers had not lost at home in 1,081 days. Their 43-game streak was the fourth-longest in Missouri Valley history, three behind Bradley (1958-61) and Oklahoma State (1936-40) but well behind the record of 86 set by Cincinnati from 1957-64. Kentucky now has the longest streak in Division I with 39 straight.

TIP-INS

Northern Iowa: Washpun finished with eight points. ... The Panthers have won six straight. ... The nation's eighth-best team in turnovers had just nine in the game.

Wichita State: Baker opened the game with a 3-pointer, the 16th consecutive game in which Wichita State scored first. ... The Shockers do not have a football program, so they celebrated Homecoming during halftime of the basketball game.

UP NEXT

Northern Iowa visits Loyola of Chicago on Wednesday night.

Wichita State plays New Mexico State on Monday night in a game postponed by weather.