DENVER (AP) -Kwadzo Ahelegbe scored 18 points, hitting half of his 14 field goal tries, to lead Northern Iowa to a 71-65 win over Denver on Friday.

Ahelegbe was one of four Northern Iowa (1-0) players to score double digits, including Jordan Eglseder, who had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Ali Farokhmanesh had 16 points for the Panthers and Adam Koch scored 13.

Denver (0-1) kept the score close most of the game, down just two points at the half and tied with 7:04 to play. But Northern Iowa held on to a small lead after that.

Denver's Brian Stafford led the game in points with 20. His team also had four players with double-digit scoring.