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Northern Iowa tops Creighton 70-52 for MVC crown

Feb 17, 2010 - 3:20 AM CEDAR FALLS, Iowa(AP) -- Northern Iowa clinched the first outright Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship in school history by defeating Creighton 70-52 on Tuesday night.

Ali Farokhmanesh hit 5 3-pointers and scored 17 points for the Panthers (23-3, 14-2 MVC), who tied Creighton for the title last season. Johnny Moran also scored 17 points, and Kwadzo Ahelegbe had five rebounds and four assists.

Antoine Young led the Bluejays (13-14, 8-8) with 12 points. Justin Carter and Kenny Lawson Jr. had 11 each.

The Panthers raised their home record to 12-0 even without 7-foot center Jordan Eglseder, who was suspended for three games after his arrest for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

Northern Iowa shot better from 3-point range at 48.1 percent (13 of 27) than overall at 45.5 percent (20 of 44).

Creighton started with a 7-0 lead, but Northern Iowa ran off the next nine points and never trailed again.