No. 12 Northern Iowa 63, Loyola Chicago 49: Seth Tuttle led a balanced scoring effort with 13 points as the Panthers downed the Ramblers in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in St. Louis.

Jeremy Morgan and Marvin Singleton chipped in 11 points apiece for No. 2 seed Northern Iowa (29-3), which committed seven turnovers and will seek its third MVC tournament title in seven years Sunday against fourth-seeded Illinois State after the Redbirds stunned No. 1 seed Wichita State earlier Saturday. Singleton added a team-high seven rebounds and Morgan collected four steals to complement the Panthers’ 51.2 percent shooting from the field.

Montel James had 14 points for sixth-seeded Loyola Chicago (19-13), which went 4-of-15 beyond the arc and did not grab an offensive rebound. Milton Doyle finished with 11 points and six assists off the bench for the Ramblers.

Northern Iowa never trailed, scoring 10 of the first 12 points before stretching its advantage to as many as 11 on a 3-pointer by Matt Bohannon. Doyle scored seven straight points as Loyola Chicago clawed its way back within five within the final minute of the first half, but Morgan stripped him of the ball near midcourt and went in for a layup to beat the buzzer and give the Panthers a 32-23 halftime edge.

The Ramblers closed within eight on two occasions before the first media timeout of the second half, but a three-point play by Wyatt Lohaus as well as jumpers from Paul Jesperson and Nate Buss capped an 11-2 surge that left Northern Iowa with a 47-30 edge with less than 12 minutes remaining. Morgan drained 3-pointers on consecutive possessions two minutes later and Loyola Chicago could not get any closer than 11 thereafter.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Northern Iowa, which improved to 5-0 all-time as the No. 2 seed at this event, defeated Illinois State in the 2009 title game in their only meeting in the MVC championship. … The Panthers, who entered Saturday with the fourth-ranked scoring defense in Division I, held their 10th opponent to fewer than 50 points. … Play was stopped for several minutes late in the second half when Ramblers G Jeff White was hurt after running into a screen set by Tuttle near midcourt. White was cleared after passing a concussion test in the locker room, but did not return.