HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) -Ali Farokhmanesh scored 14 points and Johnny Moran added 13 as Northern Iowa bounced back from a lopsided loss one night earlier to beat Auburn 67-61 Saturday in the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
Northern (4-2), a 30-point loser to Marquette on Friday night, used a 12-0 second-half run Saturday to open up a lead and then held on with free throws down the stretch.
DeWayne Reed scored 21 points to pace Auburn (3-3), which lost Friday night in overtime to Dayton.
Jordan Eglseder, Northern Iowa's 7-foot-1, 280-pound center, had 10 points and 10 rebounds. He had a pair of inside baskets and Lucas O'Rear and Travis Brown hit 3-pointers in the Panthers' 12-0 run that put Northern up 44-34 lead with just under 14 minutes to go.
Auburn cut it to two with a 10-2 spurt featuring a three-point play and a 3-pointer from Reed.
But Northern Iowa held on as Farokhmanesh hit his fourth 3-pointer with 3:06 left to give the Panthers a seven-point cushion.
Northern Iowa then made 11 free throws in the final 2:28 to secure the victory.
Auburn led by eight with 4:27 left in the first half, but Northern Iowa pulled into a 28-28 halftime time, the rally keyed by back-to-back 3-pointers from Farokhmanesh, who made all three of his long-range attempts in the first 20 minutes.
