Northern Iowa 61, No. 23 Creighton 54: Jake Koch logged 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for the host Panthers, who handed the Bluejays their third straight conference defeat.

Deon Mitchell and Seth Tuttle added 12 points each for Northern Iowa (15-11, 8-6 Missouri Valley), which avenged a 79-68 loss to Creighton on Jan. 15. The Panthers’ conference-leading scoring defense held the Bluejays to their lowest scoring output of the season.

Doug McDermott led Creighton (20-6, 9-5) with 15 points and 12 rebounds while Grant Gibbs added 14 points. The Bluejays shot 30.4 percent beyond the arc – down from their Division I-best 43.2 percent entering Wednesday – and committed 18 turnovers.

Northern Iowa led 32-22 with 3:01 left in the first half, but Austin Chatman drained a 3-pointer to cut the Panthers’ cushion to 32-25 at halftime and Gibbs scored seven points in the first 8:44 of the second half as Creighton pulled even at 41 with 12:16 to go.

After a surge from the Bluejays gave them a five-point lead, Koch scored six points during an 11-1 Northern Iowa rally. McDermott cut the Creighton deficit to 54-51 with 1:22 left but Koch made a layup at the one-minute mark and five free throws in the final 26 seconds to seal the victory.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Northern Iowa improved to 12-2 at home. The Panthers have won each of their last six games at the McLeod Center. … Creighton lost a share of first place in the MVC standings for the first time this season and trail Wichita State by a game. … The Bluejays' three-game slide is their longest since Feb. 4-11, 2012.