Northwestern suffers first loss, falls in tournament final

CANCUN, Mexico — Seth Tuttle scored 19 points and Northern Iowa beat Northwestern 61-42 to claim the Cancun Challenge championship.

Nate Buss added 11 points, including three 3-pointers, as the Panthers (6-0) posted their 11th win all-time against a Big Ten team.

Northwestern (5-1) took an 18-14 lead at 10:14 of the first half after a layup and 3-pointer by Alex Olah, but Northern Iowa went on a 17-2 run to close the half, including a pair of 3-pointers by Nate Buss, to lead 31-20 at the break. The Panthers were 14 of 24 (58 percent) from the floor before intermission and 48 percent overall.

The Wildcats got it to 10 with 11:05 left, but a pair of free throws and a dunk by Tuttle pushed it back to 16.

Bryant McIntosh led Northwestern with 13 points. The Wildcats shot just 30 percent (16 of 53) and were 5 of 21 beyond the arc.