CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Jeremy Morgan had a career-high 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Northern Iowa beat Missouri State 83-69 on Wednesday night for a fifth straight win. Matt Bohannon and Bennett Koch scored 19 apiece and Wes Washpun had 11 points with nine assists for the Panthers (15-11, 7-6 Missouri Valley Conference). Northern Iowa never trailed, made 19 of 21 free throws and hit 10 of 23 from beyond the arc.

Trailing 49-38 at halftime, the Bears’ Ryan Kreklow and Loomis Gerring combined to score nine unanswered points and Missouri State closed to within 61-58. The Panthers replied with 17-2 run and led 78-60 with 4:36 left after Koch’s back-to-back dunks and the Bears trailed by double digits the rest of the way.

Chris Kendrix scored 20 with a career-high five 3-pointers for Missouri State (10-15, 6-7). Dequon Miller had a career-high seven assists.