NCAA Game Summary - Northern Iowa at Iowa

Iowa City, IA (Basketball News) - Greg Brunner scored 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting and No. 17 Iowa held on for a closer-than-expected 76-73 victory over Northern Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Jeff Horner collected 16 points and nine rebounds for the Hawkeyes (7-1), winners of four straight since losing to North Carolina in the championship game of the Maui Invitational. Erek Hansen and Pierre Pierce added 14 points apiece in the win.

Ben Jacobson scored 25 points to lead the Panthers (3-2), who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Eric Coleman chipped in 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and Grant Stout added 15 points in the loss.

Northern Iowa went on a 14-4 run late in the second half and pulled within one point when Erik Crawford’s three-pointer made it 74-73 with 34.3 seconds remaining — this after the Panthers had trailed by as many as 13 points.

Iowa’s Adam Haluska missed a free throw attempt at the other end, but the Panthers failed to capitalize as Jacobson’s fade away jumper with five seconds left hit the front of the rim.

Horner followed that with a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game with 4.5 on the clock, and Chris Foster’s desperation heave near midcourt just missed off the backboard at the end of the game.

The Hawkeyes took their biggest lead of the game when a Brunner three made it 66-53 with 9:28 to play in the second half.

They had taken the lead for good at 16-13 on Pierce’s three-pointer with 14:37 remaining in the first half. That sparked an 18-5 run, and the Hawkeyes led by 13 when Brunner’s layup made it 31-18 inside the 6:00 mark.

Iowa carried a 40-32 advantage into halftime behind 55 percent team shooting and 13 points from Hansen. Northern Iowa shot 45 percent in the first half.