In a matchup of 5-1 in-state rivals, Northern Iowa recovered from an early 10-point deficit and shot 50 percent from the field in its third straight win against Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum 69-62 on Wednesday night.

The Lowdown

Junior guard Chris Babb started out hot for the Cyclones, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and a jump shot from the top of the lane to give Iowa State an 8-4 lead just four minutes in. A breakaway dunk by sophomore forward Royce White gave the Cyclones a 10-4 lead with 15:58 to play in the first half.

Tip in for White gave the Cyclones a 14-4 lead off a missed three-pointer by junior forward Anthony Booker. The Panthers closed that gap with an 8-0 run led keyed by a pair of threes from sophomore guard Matt Morrison.

Northern Iowa took its first lead with 5:54 remaining in the first half following an Anthony James jumper that gave the Panthers a 20-19 lead.

Northern Iowa closed out the half on a 13-9 run to take a 33-28 lead into the break. James led the Panthers with 11 points while Babb, who went scoreless in the final 16:28 of the first half, finished the half with eight.

Iowa State cut Northern Iowa’s lead down to three after a dunk by White and jumper by redshirt senior guard Chris Allen but the Panthers would get the lead back to seven six minutes later following an Austin Pehl layup.

After Booker picked up his fourth foul, ISU got off to an 8-0 run which concluded with a Percy Gibson putback that gave the Cyclones their first lead since six minutes remaining in the first half. The teams traded leads six times over the next four and a half minutes before a three by UNI guard Marc Sonnen gave the Panthers a 55-54 lead with 4:07 remaining.

A pair of ISU turnovers were followed up by another Sonnen 3-pointer which gave Northern Iowa a 58-54 lead with 2:53 remaining. Two free throws by Allen would cut the deficit back to four after a layup by the Panthers’ Seth Tuttle but four would be as close as the Cyclones would come as the Panthers made seven of 11 free throws in the final two minutes to pick up the 69-62 victory.

Turning Point

Down two with 4:22 remaining, Sonnen gave the Panthers their final lead of the game with a 3-pointer from the right wing. A steal by Tuttle was followed up by a missed shot by James but then another ISU turnover, this time from sophomore guard Bubu Palo, gave the Panthers possession out of a media timeout.

The Panthers exited the timeout and with 11 on the shot clock Sonnen drained another three, his third of the game, giving Northern Iowa a four-point lead that would not be relinquished.

X Factor

UNI guard Matt Morrison

The sophomore from Solon was an integral player in erasing an early 10-point ISU lead as he knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the first half and finished the game with 14 points. Morrison had only scored six points in the Panthers’ first six games this season and 32 total in his career before Wednesday night.

By the numbers

1: season that the Cyclones have lost to Northern Iowa and still made the NCAA Tournament (2004-2005).

+4: rebounding margin for Northern Iowa marking the first time in seven games this season that Iowa State has been outrebounded.

13: points off turnovers for the Panthers in the first half. The Cyclones turned the ball over seven times in the first half and ten times in the game.

34: bench points for Northern Iowa led by Morrison’s 14 points.

36:28: time that Babb was held scoreless for after scoring eight of the Cyclones’ first ten points.

Up next for Iowa State

The Cyclones will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., on Sunday for a showdown with one the Big 10‘s best teams this season in No. 14 Michigan. The Wolverines (5-2) are coming off a 70-58 loss at unranked Virginia on Tuesday night. John Beilein’s club pulled an upset last Monday over No. 8 Memphis at the Maui Invitational before falling to No. 6 Duke 82-75 in the semifinals. The Wolverines are led in scoring by the guard trio of sophomore Tim Hardaway Jr. (15.4 ppg) freshman Trey Burke (11 ppg) and senior Zach Novak (10.1 ppg). Tip time is set for 11:30 a.m.