SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – Seth Tuttle scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, Anthony James added 17 points, and Northern Iowa moved into sole possession of third place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 69-63 victory over Missouri State on Tuesday night.

Tuttle was 6 of 7 from the field and had three steals for the Panthers (17-11, 10-6), who moved a game ahead of Indiana State in the standings after the Sycamores lost to conference leader Wichita State. Creighton, which beat Southern Illinois, is in second place.

James dished out eight assists for UNI, which also got 11 points from Matt Bohannon.  Marcus Marshall had 25 points for the Bears (8-20, 6-10), who jumped out to a 15-5 lead. But Northern Iowa rallied to take a 30-27 advantage into halftime and never trailed again. UNI swept its season series with Missouri State, having won 48-37 at home Feb. 5.