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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Northern Iowa's Anthony James was feeling no pain Saturday.

After missing the Panthers' previous game against Southern Illinois because of a variety of injuries, James returned to play 22 minutes, score 16 points and make what he called the biggest shot of his life in Northern Iowa's 65-62 upset of No. 13 Creighton.

"That was good for our team," said James, who made the winning 3-pointer as time expired. "I'm not the only one to make a big shot tonight. Everyone contributed, and I believe that could have been anybody on our team make that shot."

James, the Panthers' leading scorer with a 13.4 average, missed last Tuesday's 58-49 win over the Salukis with a bum ankle, a bruised shoulder and a sore neck. He didn't mention the tailbone injury he sustained a couple of games ago.

James took four days off when he was restricted from any physical activity.

"Prior to taking those days off, he was banged up pretty good," Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson said. "He didn't want to rest. We were struggling a little bit and he didn't want to sit.

"He didn't say much, but finally he said, 'Coach, I can't go like I need to go to help us.' He needed that time off."

James returned to practice on Thursday and worked out again Friday. Jacobson decided not to start him but felt James would be able to play against the Bluejays.

So did James.

"I took the rest to try to get my body back healthy," he said. "Coach just told me he was going to give me a try tonight, and I think I helped us out."

Nine of James' points came in the last 2:04, and he scored the Panthers' final seven points.

"The last shot was obviously the biggest," Jacobson said, "but the stretch he had to get us the lead back was just as important."

No to a T.O.

Creighton coach Greg McDermott wanted to take a timeout after Antoine Young tied the game with a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds to play but didn't have any.

Jacobson had one, and he decided not to use it.

"I thought we had enough time to get it into the paint," Jacobson said. "They did not have one, and I didn't want them to have the opportunity to set their defense. Jake and A.J. deserve a lot of credit for making that play."

Jake Koch inbounded the ball to James, who charged upcourt before swishing the game-winner.

The win improved Northern Iowa to 6-7 in the league.

"The finish of the Southern Illinois game, the way we played the 40 minutes tonight and the way it ended, those three things can really help our team and give our guys a boost," Jacobson said. "We've lost some close games, but everyone in our league has lost some close games.

"Creighton and Wichita have stayed above it for the most part, but everyone else has. We're not alone in that boat. I give our guys credit for staying with it and staying together to give ourselves a chance against a really good team today."

Sizzling on 3s

Northern Iowa made 8 of its first 10 3-point attempts in its first game against Creighton. The Panthers eventually cooled off and left the CenturyLink Center with a 63-60 loss on Jan. 10.

Saturday, Northern Iowa made 4 of its last 5 in the last eight minutes to hold off the Bluejays.

"They hit a barrage of 3s at the end today," McDermott said.

Northern Iowa finished the game 11 of 21 (52.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The Panthers came into the game shooting 38.2 percent from 3-point range but had made only 29 of 88 (33 percent) from beyond the arc in their last five games.

The Bluejays started to mix their defenses late in the game, partly because Doug McDermott and Ethan Wragge each had four fouls and Gregory Echenique had three.

"We went to the zone and it paid some dividends, but it probably ended up costing us in the end," Greg McDermott said. "We were concerned about the guys with four fouls, and UNI has been struggling shooting the 3 the last five games.

"I'm a guy that plays the numbers a lot, but this afternoon it didn't work for me."

Young delivers

Antoine Young scored what had been a season-high 21 points in leading the Bluejays to their win in Omaha. He bettered that Saturday, finishing with 23 points and making a 3-point basket with 4.6 seconds left to tie the game.

"They're not really guarding him," McDermott said. "They're going under ball screens, and they're deep ball screens, so he's getting to 15 to 17 feet. He's a senior. He's been in this league a long time.

"If you do that, he'll beat you. He almost did it again today."

Gibbs off game

On the flip side, Creighton, the nation's top 3-point shooting team, made 31.3 percent of its 3-point shots (5 of 16). The Bluejays had been shooting 45.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Young made his only 3-pointer, and Jahenns Manigat was 1 of 2 from beyond the arc. None of the other Bluejays shot 50 percent from 3-point range, with Grant Gibbs and Josh Jones going 0 for 5.

It was a particularly rough afternoon for Gibbs, who grew up about 40 minutes from the Northern Iowa campus in Marion, Iowa. He went scoreless for the first time this season, going 0 for 4 from the field and 0 for 2 from the free throw line. He also had two turnovers.

"No one is more disappointed than Grant," Greg McDermott said. "He just wasn't himself, but he's sucked it up a lot this season with his leg injury. We've played a lot of games, and we wouldn't be where we are without him. He just had a day that wasn't typical of Grant Gibbs."

Bits and pieces

• Doug McDermott finished with 18 points, stretching his string of double-figure scoring games to 25. That's the longest by a Creighton player since Bob Harstad had 32 in a row during the 1990-91 season.

• McDermott also had 12 rebounds to record his league-high eighth double-double of the season.

• The team with the better field-goal percentage had won each of Creighton's last 29 games. But that streak was snapped Saturday. Creighton shot 42.1 percent from the field, Northern Iowa 40.4.

• Northern Iowa's crowd of 6,910 was a season-high at home for the Panthers, the ninth time in 10 Creighton road games that its opponent has played before a season-high home crowd.

• Echenique had three blocks and a season-high two steals. He also finished with 12 rebounds as Creighton held a 44-30 rebounding advantage. Creighton had a 19-3 edge in second-chance points.

• Creighton committed only 11 turnovers but Northern Iowa converted those into 17 points. The Bluejays scored just two points off the two turnovers they forced.

• Creighton's six-game road winning streak was snapped. It had been the Bluejays' longest since 1975.

— Steven Pivovar

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