Evansville 52, No. 23 Northern Iowa 49: D.J. Balentine scored 17 points, including a bucket in the final seconds, as the host Purple Aces erased a 16-point first-half deficit to upset the Panthers in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams.

Egidijus Mockevicius recorded 12 points and 13 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season for Evansville (11-2), which survived 32.7 percent shooting while missing 10 of its 11 attempts from 3-point range. Duane Gibson added seven points and Blake Simmons grabbed six rebounds.

Seth Tuttle scored 18 points before fouling out with 43 seconds left for Northern Iowa (11-2), which was outrebounded 36-27 and converted only 5-of-18 from 3-point range. Was Washpun registered 11 points and eight rebounds while Jeremy Morgan contributed seven points and three steals for the Panthers.

Northern Iowa took control in the first half with a 13-0 run - including seven points from Washpun - en route to a 30-20 lead at the break as Tuttle and Morgan contributed seven points apiece. Balentine, who scored four points in the first half, equaled that total on the first two trips down the floor in the second half and a 9-0 run - highlighted by five consecutive points by Balentine - brought Evansville to within 34-33 with 12:33 remaining.

Tuttle's 3-pointer expanded the Panthers' advantage to 41-35 with 6:23 to play before the Purple Aces responded with a 9-2 run - capped by a pair of Balentine free throws - to take their first lead. Balentine's driving bucket in the lane with 15.2 seconds left moved Evansville ahead 48-45 and after Jaylon Brown made four free throws in the final seven seconds, the Purple Aces survived when Morgan threw up an airball from 3-point range with Balentine providing tight defense.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Panthers' bench, which entered the game eighth in the nation with 33.1 points per contest, scored 22. ... Balentine, a preseason All-MVC selection who entered fifth in the nation at 22.5 points per contest, had his streak of eight straight games scoring 20 or more points come to end - one shy of the school record set by Evansville coach Marty Simmons in 1988. ... Northern Iowa yields 57.6 points per game - tops in the MVC - while Evansville averages a conference-best 77.1.