Nate Buss knocked in a 3-pointer with :06 remaining as the Panthers won a grind-it-out game on the road at Illinois State 54-53 Sunday.

The Redbirds went on a 30-6 run midway through the second half to give themselves a 46-34 lead with 10:48 remaining. 

Buss ended the ISU run with a 3-pointer, helping UNI start a run of their own as the Panthers found themselves down one, 46-45 with just under seven minutes remaining.

Marvin Singleton’s first-made 3-pointer of the season came at an opportune time as it gave UNI a 49-48 lead, their first since the 15:25 mark in the second half. Singleton added nine points on 4-5 shooting with 5 rebounds.

Illinois State’s Bobby Hunter answered back with a 3-pointer of his own to regain the lead and put his team up two with 2:26 left.

Seth Tuttle put in a layup to tie it up at 51-51 before both defenses took control down the stretch. Tuttle scored a game-high 21 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds.

The next bucket game almost two minutes later as Lee Paris banked in a floater off the drive with :26 seconds remaining to give ISU a two point lead.

Jeremy Morgan missed an open 3-pointer that resulted in a Buss foul with :12 left. Daishon Knight missed the front end of the one-and-one attempt that was secured by Tuttle before a UNI timeout.

Wes Washpun attacked the middle of the Redbird defense, resulting in Buss’ game-winning 3-pointer from the corner.

The Panthers travel to Carbondale, Ill. on Wednesday to take on Southern Illinois at 7 p.m.