Panther men’s basketball earns fourth straight MVC win.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Ben Schwieger scored 14 points as Northern Iowa beat Evansville 62-48 on Sunday.

Schwieger had eight rebounds and three steals for the Panthers (12-3, 4-0 Missouri Valley Conference).

AJ Casey finished with 17 points for the Purple Aces (4-12, 0-5). Connor Turnbull added 12 points and two blocks for Evansville. The loss is the seventh straight for the Purple Aces.

Northern Iowa took the lead for good with 15:30 left in the first half. The score was 34-18 at halftime, with Ismael Diouf racking up eight points. Northern Iowa pulled away with an 8-0 run in the second half to extend a 12-point lead to 20 points. They were outscored by Evansville in the second half by a two-point margin, but still wound up on top, as Schwieger led the way with a team-high 10 second-half points.

NORTHERN IOWA ADDITIONAL NOTES

• UNI improves to 38-30 all-time against Evansville with Sunday’s win, including 27-13 under head coach Ben Jacobson.
• Northern Iowa’s victory marks the Panthers’ first 4-0 start to league play since the 2009-10 season when they won their first seven conference games.
• The Panthers have now held 14 of its first 15 opponents under 70 points this season, including nine under 60 points and two under 50.
• The Panthers’ 48 points allowed are tied for the fewest by an opponent this season. UNI’s 18 points allowed in the first half also tied for a season-low.
• Northern Iowa has now held six straight opponents under 20% shooting from three-point range after holding the Purple Aces to one-of-14 from beyond the arc.
• Leon Bond III recorded his 500th career point on Sunday. Bond, who previously played at Virginia (2022-24), has scored 408 points since joining the Panthers last season.
• Ben Schwieger is 40 points shy of becoming the 116th member of UNI’s 500 career point club.