Northern Iowa breezes past Wyoming, 71-54

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers guard Paul Jesperson (4) shoots a basket against the Wyoming Cowboys during the first half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers forward Seth Tuttle (10) is fouled on a scoring play by Wyoming Cowboys forward Larry Nance Jr. (22) during the first half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers guard Deon Mitchell (1) moves the ball up court against Wyoming Cowboys during the first half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers guard Deon Mitchell (1) moves to the basket against the Wyoming Cowboys during the second half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers guard Matt Bohannon (5) moves the ball against the Wyoming Cowboys during the second half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers guard Deon Mitchell (1) moves the ball up court against the Wyoming Cowboys during the second half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Wyoming Cowboys forward Larry Nance Jr. (22) moves to the basket against Northern Iowa Panthers forward Nate Buss (14) during the second half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Wyoming Cowboys forward Larry Nance Jr. (22) shoots against the defense of Northern Iowa Panthers forward Seth Tuttle (10) during the second half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Wyoming Cowboys guard Josh Adams (14) moves the ball against Northern Iowa Panthers guard Jeremy Morgan (20) during the second half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers forward Seth Tuttle (10) is defended by Wyoming Cowboys guard Josh Adams (14) during the second half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers forward Seth Tuttle (10) controls the ball against Wyoming Cowboys forward Larry Nance Jr. (22) during the second half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Wyoming Cowboys forward Derek Cooke Jr. (11) moves to the basket against Northern Iowa Panthers forward Marvin Singleton (12) during the second half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. (Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

SEATTLE — Junior guard Paul Jesperson scored 15 points and senior forward Seth Tuttle added 14 points and nine rebounds as fifth-seeded Northern Iowa breezed past No. 12 Wyoming for a 71-54 victory in the second round of the NCAA East Regional on Friday.

Wyoming senior forward Larry Nance Jr. scored 15 of his 16 points after halftime as the Cowboys (25-10) tried to rally from a deficit that reached 21 points early in the second half.

Northern Iowa (31-3) posted its first NCAA Tournament win since advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2009-10.

Northern Iowa used a 10-0 first-half run to pull out to a double-digit lead that grew to 14 points. The Panthers went cold down the stretch but still went into halftime leading 35-24.

Wyoming’s Charles Hankerson Jr. scored 12 points on 4-of-5 3-point shooting in the opening 20 minutes.

Northern Iowa rolled out to a 21-point lead early in the second half before Nance and the Cowboys got going.

Wyoming’s leading scorer made his first field goal of the game on a dunk with 14:55 remaining, eventually scoring 12 consecutive Cowboys points before passing to guard Riley Grabau for a 3-pointer that cut the deficit to 10 points at 50-40 with 11:45 left.

Wyoming got within seven points but no closer as Northern Iowa finished off the win. Panthers junior guard Wes Washpun scored eight of his 10 points in the final nine minutes to help Northern Iowa put the Cowboys away.

Jesperson had 13 points in the first half and Hankerson scored 15 on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.

Among the Northern Iowa fans in attendance at KeyArena was former NFL quarterback and UNI alumnus Kurt Warner, who lives in Arizona.