UNI knocks off Arizona State in opening round of Tire Pros Invitational

Northern Iowa guard Jeremy Morgan had 20 points and forward Klint Carlson added a career-high 19 in the Panthers' 82-63 victory over Arizona State in the first round of the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday.

Freshman guard Spencer Haldeman had a career-high 17 points on 5-of-7 3-pointers and forward Bennett Koch had 14 points as the Panthers (2-0) advanced to play Oklahoma at 6 p.m. Friday (ESPNU).

Morgan, the Missouri Valley preseason player of the year, made 4-of-6 3-pointers and tied a career high with 12 rebounds in his third career double-double.

Senior transfer guard Torian Graham had 19 points and guard Tra Holder had 13 for Arizona State (2-1).

Graham made his first start of the season after coming off the bench to score 23 and 18 points off the bench in victories over Portland State and Cal Poly. He followed coach Bobby Hurley to Arizona State from Buffalo and sat out last year.

Northern Iowa, picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley preseason poll, made 13-of-30 3-pointers and shot 50.9 percent from the field while outrebounding Arizona State 32-29. ASU shot 41.5 percent.

Morgan and Haldeman had nine points on three 3-pointers apiece as Northern Iowa took a 37-29 halftime lead. The Panthers made 7-of-16 3-point attempts in the first half.

Northern Iowa has made at least one 3-pointer in 533 straight games.

The tournament finals are Sunday.