CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Blake Bozeman had a career-night for the Bears, but it was Northern Iowa that came away with the win Thursday night in the McLeod Center.

UNI had five players score in double figures, and used a 21-4 run to help the Panthers pull away to beat Morgan State 73-53 in the first round of the Cancun Challenge.

Paul Jesperson and Deon Mitchell finished with 13 points, Seth Tuttle and Wes Washpun added 12, and Jeremy Morgan had 11 to help the Panthers improve to 3-0 to start the season.

Morgan State held a 30-29 halftime advantage behind 3-point explosion by Bozeman. The senior guard, who entered the contest connecting on just 5 triples in the first two games, led the Bears with 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc in the first stanza.

UNI regained the lead for good after scoring the first six points after the intermission. The Bears managed to close within 44-41 when Vaughan Morgan (6 pts) drilled a 3-pointer with 12:48 left to play. But the Panthers responded with a 21-4 run in just over a 7-minute stretch to help put the game out of reach. A jumper by Wyatt Lohaus with 1:07 remaining gave the Panthers a 22 point lead (71-49), the largest lead of the night.

Morgan State certainly showed some growing pains by turning the ball over 12 times, however the Bears absolutely dominated the offensive glass by outrebounding the Panthers by a 21-7 margin.

The Bears, picked to finish third in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, were led by Bozeman who finished with a career-high 19 points (7-17 FG). Rasean Simpson and Donte Pretlow also chipped in 6 points. Zech Smith had a game-high eight rebounds with 5 points.

UNI finished the night shooting 55 percent from the field and connected on 24 of 34 free throws. 

Morgan State will play the Houston Cougars (1-0) on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Hofheinz Pavilion. The game will mark the second round of the Cancun Challenge and will be broadcast on ESPN3.