CEDAR FALLS, IOWA - Parlaying a strong shooting performance, Northern Iowa carved out a 69-49 victory over Drake on Saturday (Jan. 22) at the McLeod Center.

The loss dropped the Bulldogs to 8-12 on the season, including 3-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while extending the Panthers' winning streak to five straight and improving their ledger to 15-6 overall and 6-3 in league action.

Northern Iowa connected on 12-of-24 three pointers en route to shooting 51.0 percent in the affair, while Drake recorded a 51.4 percent shooting mark, including 61.1 percent in the second half.

The Panthers stymied the Bulldogs defensively for most of the affair holding freshman Rayvonte Rice (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) and senior Ryan Wedel (Minneapolis, Kan./Minneapolis), Drake's two-leading scorers, to 15 combined points, all but four coming in the second half.

Rice and sophomore Seth VanDeest (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) led Drake with 10 points apiece. Sophomore Ben Simons (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) and redshirt sophomore Jordan Clarke (Rockville, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) added eight points each.

A 16-point performance from Kwadzo Ahelegbe led all scorers, while Johnny Moran and Chip Rank each chipped in 14 points for Northern Iowa.

Rebounding was nearly even in the affair with the Panthers owning a 27-23 advantage.

VanDeest paced Drake with a game-high six rebounds, while Clarke turned in a five-rebound effort.

Northern Iowa capitalized on 19 Bulldog turnovers by outscoring Drake 34-12 off the miscues.  The Bulldogs though only turned the ball over six times in the second half.

The Panthers garnered a 23-8 margin in bench scoring.

Drake returns to action on Tuesday (Jan. 25) hosting league-leading Missouri State.  Game time is set for 7:06 p.m.