CINCINNATI -- Playing a good shooting team like Northern Iowa twice in six days is a unique challenge. But ninth-ranked Xavier handled the situation as well as possible on Saturday afternoon.

"You're not going to put a whole lot in," said Musketeers head coach Chris Mack. "The personnel's not going to change. It's really up to the players to be ready to play."

Xavier was ready.

J.P. Macura scored 18 points and Edmond Sumner added 14 points and seven assists as the Musketeers behind a stifling defense defeated Northern Iowa for the second straight game 64-42 at Cintas Center.

Xavier (6-0) held the Panthers to just 12 points in the first half.

"That's the best half we've played since I've been here," said Macura, a junior. "We were talking really well. We didn't want to allow them any rhythm threes or layups."

Jeremy Morgan led Northern Iowa (3-2) with 14 points and Klint Carlson added 11 for the Panthers, who shot 32.6 percent for the game and committed 14 turnovers.

"They made it obvious that they did a better job of preparing their guys for what was the rematch, if you will," Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson said. "They just did a better job than we did. The coaches did, the players did."

Xavier defeated Northern Iowa 67-59 last week in the championship game of the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando, Fla., limiting the Panthers to 26.7 percent shooting from 3-point range in the second half to break open a close game.

In a scheduling quirk, the teams met again on Saturday, and Xavier's defense again was suffocating on Saturday.

Northern Iowa had one field goal and committed five turnovers in the first 13 minutes.

The Musketeers led 10-2 after Trevon Bluiett's layup off a skip pass from Macura.

Sumner and Bluiett hit 3-pointers to make the score 18-5.

Xavier held Morgan scoreless until his 3-pointer with 17:44 left in the second half. He scored 20 points in the last meeting.

"We put Edmond on him," Mack said. "He was locked in and had great attention to detail."

Macura's third 3-pointer of the game made the score 30-10. He went 3-for-5 from 3-point range in the first half.

Macura's bounce pass to Sumner in transition resulted in a two-handed jam to give the Musketeers their largest lead 35-12. Sumner had 10 points and five assists by halftime.

Xavier, which forced 17 turnovers and had 11 steals in the first meeting, forced 10 in the first half on Saturday.

"We defended at a really high level," Mack said. "as good as I can remember."

The Musketeers showed no signs of slowing down early in the second half when Bluiett hit a 3-pointer to make the score 40-14. Bluiett had eight points.

The only concern from Xavier in the second half came when Sumner limped off the court with 12 minutes remaining because of an apparent cramp. He returned to the game less than four minutes later.

The Musketeers committed 13 turnovers on Saturday, including seven in the second half, preventing them from putting the score completely out of reach. But Xavier's defense prevented a Panthers rally.

"Northern Iowa isn't a garbage team," Mack said. "You have to keep your foot on the accelerator. The difference in the game was how locked in we were on defense from the outset. We just did what we wanted to do better."

It didn't help Northern Iowa's cause when junior forward Bennett Koch fouled out with eight minutes remaining. The Panthers also were outrebounded 42-20 on Saturday.

"We were not prepared at a level we need to be prepared at, and that starts with me," Jacobson said. "That shows up in rebounding, that shows up in foul trouble. That's where that shows up."

NOTES: The 12 first-half points scored by Northern Iowa were the fewest by a Xavier opponent in the first half in at least 34 years. ... Xavier played the same non-conference opponent in consecutive games for the eighth time in school history, the first since facing Yale two straight games in 1960. ... Xavier F Kaiser Gates returned after missing five games after undergoing knee surgery in October. ... Northern Iowa G Jeremy Morgan was selected Missouri Valley Conference player of the week after averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds.