PHILADELPHIA, March 14 (UPI) -- Two free throws by Seth Tuttle in the final second Wednesday gave Northern Iowa a 59-57 road victory over St. Joseph's in the NIT's opening round.
The Panthers, who finished fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference, will meet Drexel in a second-round contest.
Tuttle scored on a tip-in with 19 seconds to go to put Northern Iowa in front, but St. Joseph's tied it with 7 seconds left on a dunk by Ronald Roberts.
Tuttle was then fouled going to the basket by Roberts and his two free throws wrapped up the victory.
Northern Iowa overcame a sluggish start, rallying from an early eight-point deficit while improving to 20-13. Tuttle made 9-of-10 from the foul line and scored 23 points to lead the Panthers.
St. Joseph's (20-14) got 24 points from guard Carl Rogers, who made four 3-pointers. The Hawks finished fifth in the Atlantic 10 Conference and lost in the league tournament quarterfinals to eventual champion St. Bonaventure.
