Northern Iowa pounces on Division-III Kohawks

CEDAR FALLS - Anthony James scored 18 points to lead four Northern Iowa players in double-figure scoring, and the Panthers' defense smothered Division III Coe, 84-45, last night in men's basketball at the McLeod Center.

Marc Sonnen added 14 points, Kwadzo Ahelegbe had 11 and Jake Koch 10 for Northern Iowa (1-1).

Alex Tatman had nine points to lead the Kohawks (0-1), who were held to 28.8 percent shooting and made only 15 field goals.

The Panthers, meanwhile, hit 30 of 59 shots (50.8 percent), including eight 3-pointers.

Northern Iowa ended the first half on a 14-6 run for a 43-17 lead, and it pushed its advantage to as many as 48 points in the second half.

Coe knotted the game at 2-2 on a jumper from Dan Borngraeber with 18:04 left in the first half, and that was the final tie of the game.

UNI responded with a 10-0 run.