Koch’s 34 points lead Northern Iowa to 83-77 win

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Jake Koch scored a career-high 34 points and Northern Iowa held off Bradley for an 83-77 victory Sunday night.

Johnny Moran added 16 points and Kwadzo Ahelegbe 11 for the Panthers (11-6, 2-3 Missouri Valley), who never trailed.

Andrew Warren finished with a career-high 30 points and added 10 rebounds for the Braves (6-10, 0-5), who lost their fifth straight. Will Egolf had 19 points.

Northern Iowa went up 69-56 after three free throws by Koch with 7:24 to play before Bradley mounted a 19-8 run. Warren’s three-point play completed the spurt, making it 77-75 with 1:43 to go.

But the Braves couldn’t pull any closer, and the Panthers held on to win for just the second time in five games after a 9-3 start.

Northern Iowa led by as many as 23 — 42-19 with 1:46 left in the first half — and scored 18 points off 10 Bradley turnovers.