PEORIA, Ill. - Northern Iowa started hot by making 10 of its first 12 shots en route to a 29-9 lead and the Nos. 22/23 Panthers (15-2, 4-1 MVC) coasted to a 63-52 win at Bradley (6-12, 1-4 MVC) Tuesday night at Carver Arena.

Bradley used a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Auston Barnes to close the first half and an early 3-pointer by Ka'Darryl Bell to start the second half to pull within 35-21, but it appeared the Panthers were on their way to a rout when they used a 10-1 burst to build a 45-22 lead with 14:52 remaining.

UNI still led 50-29 with 7:33 remaining before the Braves came to life and used a 21-6 run to pull within 56-50 following another Barnes trey with 1:18 remaining. The Braves had a chance to further cut into the deficit after UNI's Wes Washpun missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Bradley's Josh Cunningham missed a baseline jumper as the clock dipped under one minute remaining and the Panthers made 7-of-8 free throw attempts the rest of the way to prevent the home team from completing the rally.

Bradley finished the game shooting just 29.4 percent (15-51) from the field, including just 8-for-29 (.276) from inside the 3-point line. After its 10-for-12 start, UNI made just nine of its final 27 field goal attempts in the game to finish 19-for-39 (.487). The Panthers were 7-for-16 from 3-point range and converted 18-of-22 free throw attempts.

Seth Tuttle led the Panthers with 15 points, while Nate Buss chipped in with 11 off the bench. The duo shared team-high rebound honors with seven boards apiece. Barnes led the Braves with 14 points and equalled his career-high with four 3-pointers. Reserve guard Warren Jones scored 10 points off the bench in his second game back in action as he recovers from a stress fracture in his right foot and freshman forward Josh Cunningham pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.

Bradley, which has dropped three straight, will hit the road for its next two games, beginning with Saturday's first installment in the annual Interstate 74 Rivalry series against Illinois State. The 4 p.m. game at Redbird Arena will be televised regionally on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The Panthers will have a couple of extra days rest before returning home to host Missouri State in a 3 p.m. game to be televised nationally on ESPNU.