By RICK SOLEM
IOWA CITY, Iowa – He had a career high 12 points.
He nailed a key jumper with just over a minute remaining to give his team the lead.
University of Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan had this to say about his freshman from La Crosse, Wis., Bronson Koenig.
“He’s a good player. You’re going to see a lot more of him over the next few years.”
Those 12 points helped the 16th-ranked Badgers get by No. 15 Iowa 79-74 Saturday – their fifth consecutive win, which includes three over Top-15 opponents.
Wisconsin (22-5, 9-5 Big Ten) controlled the first half and went into the locker room up 40-31 thanks in part to Koenig. The 6-foot-3 guard from Aquinas High School was 4-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc in scoring 10 points off the bench.
“(Koenig) gave us quite a big lift,” Ryan said. “He put some points on the board.”
But it wasn’t five minutes into the second half and the Hawkeyes pulled within 40-39 after an 8-1 run. 
Koenig pushed the lead back to four with an assist to Frank Kaminsky. With 10:30 remaining, Iowa (19-7, 8-5) took its first lead of the second half, 54-51, before Koenig found Josh Gasser from beyond the arc to tie things up.
Things went back and forth from there and, with 1:20 remaining, Koenig gave the Badgers a 71-70 lead on a jumper from Traevon Jackson.
Iowa retook the lead on the next possession, before Wisconsin took over in the final 45 seconds. First, Kaminsky hit a jumper with 36 seconds remaining to go up 73-72. The 7-foot junior then got a steal and was fouled. He hit both free throws to give his team a three-point lead with 24 seconds to go.
Iowa came down and missed a 3-pointer to tie with 17 left, Wisconsin got the rebound and nailed free throws down the stretch to seal it.
Koenig played 23 minutes, the most off the bench, was 5-for-7 from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. He also had two assists. Kaminsky scored 21 to lead Wisconsin, which shot 57.1 percent in the first half and just 40 percent in the second.