IOWA CITY -- Cyrus Tate took Todd Lickliter's challenge to heart.

After University of Northern Iowa center Jordan Eglseder worked free for several easy buckets in the first half Tuesday, the Iowa basketball coach approached Tate at halftime about his defense on Eglseder.

"I realized after the first half, we've got to get Jordan stopped," Tate said. "We can't let him dictate how the game is run."

In fact, Iowa completely handcuffed UNI's interior in the second half during a 65-46 rout at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Eglseder and Adam Koch, who combined for the team's first 12 points Tuesday, managed only one shot attempt in the first 13 1/2 minutes of the second half as the Hawkeyes turned a one-point halftime lead into a 13-point cushion.

"I was a little more active against (Jordan) in the second half," Tate said. "I tried to trick him a little, sometimes standing behind him and sometimes standing in front.

"We wanted to keep him guessing where I'd come from."

While UNI's inside tandem was stymied, the perimeter shots failed to fall.

The Panthers (5-4) were 5 of 21 (24 percent) from the 3-point line, including a combined 3 of 14 from Ali Farokhmanesh and Johnny Moran.

"We weren't disciplined enough with what worked in the first half," Farokhmanesh said. "It falls on us players to stay disciplined, stay calm and stick to the game plan."

The 19-point win was Iowa's most lopsided in the series since 2000, a 74-42 whipping.

"The final score wasn't indicative of how competitive it was," Lickliter said. "Northern Iowa is a team that tests you, and I thought in the first half they had control a lot."

UNI secured its biggest lead of the game, 22-15, on a 3-pointer from Travis Brown, but Iowa finished the half on an 8-0 spurt. The Hawkeyes followed with 19 of the first 26 points in the closing 20 minutes to seize control.

"We let the fact we missed a couple shots affect how we defended," UNI coach Ben Jacobson said.

Iowa (8-2) shot 60 percent in the second half and committed five turnovers for the contest -- the fewest in Lickliter's 42 games as the Hawkeyes' coach.

"We're playing to our strengths, not forcing things," said sophomore Jake Kelly, who matched his career high with 19 points. "We ran the offense the way it's supposed to be run."

In addition, point guard Jeff Peterson equaled a season high with 18 points, five assists and four rebounds. Freshman Matt Gatens made 4 of 5 attempts from the arc to finish with 14 points.

"Any given night anybody can step up and play well," Peterson said. "The big difference from last year to this year is, we have multiple guys who can step up."

But it was the job Iowa did on Eglseder and Koch that grabbed most of the attention.

"So much of what they do runs through Eglseder, and once we made it difficult for them to get it into him or Koch, it helped us compete," Kelly said.

Eglseder said the lack of inside touches falls on he and Koch.

"It's on me and Koch to work harder posting up and fronting our guys," he said.

Jacobson said his team didn't answer Iowa's defensive adjustment.

"When their guards went down and really made sure the ball came out of there, we didn't do a good enough job of being patient enough to go back in," he said.

Koch and Moran led UNI, which has shot 22 percent from the 3-point line in its losses, with 10 points each.

"This isn't the kind of result you wanted," Koch said. "This isn't a game we should have got blown out in.

"Our consistency definitely isn't where it needs to be."

Jacobson's club continues to be an enigma.

"Tonight, we took a bigger step back than we have all season," Jacobson said. "For the most part, we've done a good job of getting better every week.

"We didn't play better tonight than Saturday, and that's disappointing. A lot of that had to do with the way Iowa played."

SHORT SHOTS: The 46 points were the second time this year UNI has been held in the 40s. The other was a 73-43 loss to Marquette. … UNI sophomore reserve Jon Montgomery didn't suit up Tuesday night after injuring an ankle during Saturday's game against North Dakota. … Iowa's Anthony Tucker, suspended indefinitely by Lickliter, has been charged with public intoxication by Iowa City Police. Tucker, found unconscious in an alley behind a downtown Iowa City bar late Saturday night, had a blood-alcohol content level of .194 -- more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 in Iowa. He was sent to University of Iowa Hopsitals and Clinics where he was treated and released.

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com

N. Iowa Mn FG-A FT-A Rb As PF TP

Koch 28 4-7 2-3 3 0 2 10

Eglseder 27 4-5 0-0 8 0 0 8

Farokhmanesh 30 2-9 0-1 3 5 4 5

Ahelegbe 33 2-5 3-4 0 4 3 7

Moran 34 4-11 0-0 2 1 2 10

Haak 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0

Brown 21 2-3 0-0 0 0 3 6

Dunham 14 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0

O'Rear 8 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0

Team 5

Totals 200 18-40 5-8 21 11 16 46

Iowa Mn FG-A FT-A Rb As PF TP

Davis 26 2-4 0-0 2 1 1 5

Tate 27 1-4 2-2 6 0 3 4

Gatens 35 5-8 0-0 2 2 2 14

Peterson 35 6-11 4-4 4 5 1 18

Kelly 36 8-15 2-2 5 4 2 19

Bawinkel 13 1-4 0-0 2 0 0 3

Brommer 4 0-0 0-0 1 0 4 0

Fuller 16 1-2 0-0 2 0 0 2

Cole 8 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0

Team 2

Totals 200 24-48 8-8 26 13 14 65

Northern Iowa 22 24 ï½ 46

Iowa 23 42 ï½ 65

3-point goals - UNI 5-21 (Moran 2-7, Brown 2-3, Farokhmanesh 1-7, Ahelegbe 0-2, Koch 0-2); Iowa 9-21 (Gatens 4-5, Peterson 2-3, Kelly 1-5, Bawinkel 1-4, Davis 1-3, Fuller 0-1). Turnovers - UNI 10 (five players with 2); Iowa 5 (Tate 2, Peterson 2). Steals - UNI 3 (Brown, Dunham, Farokhmanesh); Iowa 7 (Tate 3, Kelly 2). Blocks - UNI 1 (Koch); Iowa 0.

Officials - Ed Hightower, Ted Hillary, Jim Burr. Att. - 9,435 (paid).

RUNOUTS

Score: Iowa 65, UNI 46

Leaders of the pack: Iowa's Jake Kelly matched his career-high with 19 points, while Jeff Peterson had 18 points, five assists and four rebounds. Adam Koch and Johnny Moran each had 10 points for UNI.

Off the bench: Travis Brown had two 3-pointers and six points for UNI.

Game changer: The Hawkeyes used a 13-0 surge during the last 3 1/2 minutes of the first half and the opening 90 seconds of the second half.

Next up: UNI travels to Wyoming for a 4:30 p.m. tip Saturday. Iowa plays host to Iowa State at 7:05 p.m. Friday.