CEDAR FALLS — Iowa State couldn’t stop Northern Iowa’s two-headed monster.

Guards Erik Crawford and Ben Jacobson scored 28 and 27 points, respectively, as the Panthers downed the Cyclones 99-82 at the UNI-Dome.

Crawford and Jacobson led the way for Northern Iowa early, as things went from bad to worse for the Cyclones when the Panthers jumped out to a 20-5 lead to start the game.

“Anywhere you go and there’s a 20-5 run not in your favor, it’s not good,” said ISU head coach Wayne Morgan.

The Cyclones brought it back to 20-13, but that’s the closest they would get.

Northern Iowa remained unfazed, stretching the lead back out to 29-13 with 9:33 left in the first half.

“That’s a sign of a team that was prepared, and we prepared well,” said UNI head coach Greg McDermott. “A lot of basketball games are decided in the first five minutes of the half.”

Many of the Panthers early points came from Jacobson stretching the Cyclones’ zone defense with great perimeter shooting.

“We really tried to extend that zone a bit, and my teammates did a great job of getting me the ball,” Jacobson said.

The Panthers took a 44-27 lead into halftime and held Curtis Stinson to near silence. Stinson finished the half with only two points on 1-of-5 shooting and no assists.

“Our strategy going in was staying between him and the basket, and we did a good job of that,” Crawford said.

Northern Iowa shot 56 percent from the field in the first half and a sizzling 10 of 16 from the 3-point line.

“They did a good job early, and they hit a lot of big shots,” Morgan said.

Things didn’t get any better for the Cyclones in the second half, as the Panthers stretched their lead to as many as 33 points.

“I was a little surprised that we got up to that kind of lead, because Iowa State’s a good team, but that just shows we’re a good team too,” McDermott said.

Assists seemed to be the deciding factor, as Northern Iowa recorded 25 to Iowa State’s four. Brooks McKowen led the Panthers with 11 dishes and no field goals. Stinson, the Cyclones’ assist leader, finished with zero.

Jared Homan led the Cyclone scoring with 23 points, and Stinson eventually got things going in the second half to finish with 22. Will Blalock was the only other Cyclone in double figures with 19.

Northern Iowa’s Eric Coleman had the game’s lone double-double, finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds.