Northern Iowa pulls away early in 2nd, beats Drake 68-54 (Jan 16, 2018)

By AP
Published

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) Bennett Koch scored 19 points and Northern Iowa pulled away early in the second half to beat Drake 68-54 on Tuesday night.

Northern Iowa (10-9, 2-5 Missouri Valley Conference) has won two straight since snapping a seven-game skid, and has beaten Drake (11-9, 5-2) in 16 of the last 18 games.

The Bulldogs had their last lead, 38-37 with 15 minutes left before Northern Iowa used a 23-11 surge for a 60-49 lead with four minutes remaining. Back-to-back 3s from Spencer Haldeman and Tywhon Pickford made it a 17-point Panther advantage with 2:28 to go.

Pickford added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Northern Iowa. Haldeman chipped in 12 points and Klint Carlson had 10.

Reed Timmer had 17 points and Nick McGlynn 13 to lead Drake, which has lost two of its last three games.