Recap: Evansville vs. Northern Iowa

Evansville, IN (Sports Network) - Colt Ryan scored a game-high 23 points and handed out nine assists as the Evansville Purple Aces rallied for a 54-51 win in overtime over the Northern Iowa Panthers in Missouri Valley Conference action at the Ford Center.

No other player scored in double figures for Evansville (13-9, 6-4 MVC) though Troy Taylor and Ned Cox each tallied nine points. Taylor also had 12 rebounds while Egidijus Mockevicius brought down a game-high 13 rebounds. The Purple Aces had lost three of their previous four games.

Marc Sonnen (11 points) was the lone player in double figures for Northern Iowa (11-11, 4-6) which has lost back-to-back games after winning two straight. Seth Tuttle and Deon Mitchell each contributed nine points with Tuttle also handing out eight assists.

At halftime Evansville led 23-19 after both teams shot less than 40 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. The Purple Aces made good on 10-of-29 attempts from the field while the Panthers hit 9-of-24.

Down 44-37 with just over three minutes remaining, Evansville went on a 10-3 run capped by a 3-pointer from Cox with 30 seconds left that tied the game at 47-47. Neither team managed a field goal attempt the rest of regulation to force overtime.

In the extra session the Purple Aces scored the first four points of the period and despite hitting just 1-of-5 shots from the free-throw line were able to hang on as the Panthers connected on just 2-of-7 shots from the floor.

Each team collected 39 rebounds in the contest but Northern Iowa had a 30-16 edge on points in the paint. The two teams combined for 41 points off turnovers.