ST. LOUIS (AP) – Nate Buss scored a season-high 23 points and No. 11 Northern Iowa overwhelmed Bradley in the second half for a 71-46 rout in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Friday night.
The second-seeded Panthers (28-3) advanced without much from Valley player of the year Seth Tuttle, who made his first basket with 13:47 to go and finished with 10 points on 3 for 9 shooting.
Deon Mitchell added 14 points, five assists and two steals for the winners, who led 34-32 early in the second half before taking control with an 11-0 run. Northern Iowa has won 17 of 18 and faces either Indiana State or Loyola on Sunday in the semifinals.
Reserve Omari Grier had 16 points and Josh Cunningham added 14 points and six rebounds for Bradley (8-24), the 10th seed.