Jesperson's 8 3s lead Northern Iowa past Bradley 68-50

Jan 27, 2016, 11:53 pm

PEORIA, Ill. -- Paul Jesperson hit 8 3-pointers and scored 28 points -- both career highs -- and Northern Iowa limited Bradley to just 18 second-half points as the Panthers took a 68-50 victory Wednesday night.

Jesperson and Matt Bohannon each knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as Northern Iowa took a 12-4 lead, but Bradley kept pace. Antoine Pittman hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 32-32 with 1:06 left in the first half. Jesperson hit a late 3 to give Northern Iowa a 35-32 halftime advantage.

Bradley took a 38-37 lead on Pittman's 3-pointer less than three minutes into the second half, but the Braves scored on just two Pittman 3-pointers over the next eight minutes.

Northern Iowa (11-11, 3-6 Missouri Valley) built a 54-44 advantage and Jesperson hit three straight 3s to make it 63-47.

Ronnie Suggs scored 15 and Pittman added 14 points for Bradley (3-19, 1-8).