Northern Iowa suffered its first Missouri Valley Conference loss, Wednesday. Belmont raced out to a 14-point first half lead and beat the Panthers 78-65 in the McLeod Center. The Bruins shot 60 percent for the game, including 10-of-21 from three point range.

That’s UNI coach Ben Jacobson, who says the Panthers were not good enough on the defensive end.

UNI got to within three midway through the second half but Belmont followed with a 15-2 run to put the game away.