Jack Smiley scores 19 as Belmont beats Northern Iowa 78-65

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Jack Smiley helped lead Belmont over Northern Iowa on Wednesday with 19 points off the bench in a 78-65 victory.

Smiley added six assists for the Bruins (14-3, 4-2 Missouri Valley Conference). Drew Scharnowski scored 18 points and added nine rebounds. Tyler Lundblade added 14.

Ben Schwieger finished with 12 points for the Panthers (12-4, 4-1). Max Weisbrod added 12 points for Northern Iowa. Leon Bond III also had 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Belmont took the lead for good with 15:04 remaining in the first half. The score was 36-32 at halftime, with Smiley racking up 11 points. Belmont pulled away with a 15-2 run in the second half to extend a three-point lead to 16 points. They outscored Northern Iowa by nine points in the final half, as Scharnowski led the way with a team-high 10 second-half points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.