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(AP) --  Kwadzo Ahelegbe scored 21 points and
Anthony James had 20 as Northern Iowa held off Wichita State 77-74
Wednesday night.

Northern Iowa (14-6, 5-3 Missouri Valley) won its fourth
straight. Jake Koch and Johnny Moran each scored 12 for the
Panthers.

The Shockers (15-4, 6-2) wasted a chance to pull into a
three-way tie for the conference lead. J.T. Durley and David Kyles
scored 14 apiece to lead Wichita State.

Northern Iowa led 43-35 with 18:58 remaining, but Wichita State
pulled back within 44-43 on Demetric Williams' 3-pointer with 15:57
to play. It stayed close until five points by Ahelegbe spurred a
9-0 Panthers run to make it 70-64 with 2:27 left.

The Shockers closed within 73-71 on Kyles' 3-pointer with 14.2
seconds left. But Moran and Koch each sank two free throws in the
final 11 seconds. Kyles' desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer did
not reach the rim.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)