Gophers Snap Iowa's Win Streak
Quincy Lewis supplied the offense and Kevin Clark the defense as No. 19 Minnesota snapped No. 12 Iowa's 11-game winning streak.
Lewis scored 29 points and Clark held 3-point bomber Kent McCausland to just seven points as the Gophers beat the Hawkeyes 75-70 Saturday.
"We really needed this win," said Lewis, whose team was coming off a 16-point loss at Michigan State. "In the Big Ten, everyone's searching for victories."
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Minnesota (11-3, 2-2) built a 15-point lead and then held on at the end to turn back the hottest team in the Big Ten. Trailing 66-51 with 4:40 remaining, Iowa (13-2, 4-1) went on a 14-1 run to close within two points with 1:44 left.
But Lewis hit a baseline jumper for a 69-65 lead with 1:18 to go. Then Minnesota, the second-worst free-throw shooting team in the conference, made six of eight foul shots in the final minute to clinch the victory.
"It was one of those games we needed to win to stay out of the loss column," said Minnesota coach Clem Haskins. "You can't get four or five losses and stay near the top of this conference."
Iowa had not lost since its third game of the year, a two-point loss to Creighton.
"What you saw today was life in the Big Ten conference," said Iowa coach Tom Davis. "Literally every game is going to be like that where you get a great battle."
The Gophers made just five of their first 21 shots in falling behind by seven points. But Lewis, who has been in double figures in 19 consecutive games, got the Gophers going with three straight baskets late in the first half.
Lewis later scored six straight for Minnesota as the Gophers opened a 10-point lead at 58-48 with 7:16 to play.
A tip-in by Miles Tarver gave the Golden Gophers their biggest lead at 66-51 before the Hawkeyes rallied behind 13 points from Dean Oliver.
"We were amazed we were still in the game," said Olver, who finished with 24 points. "I felt like I was pretty hot for a while. I was trying to see what I could do."
"He has that big heart," Davis said of his sophomore point guard. "He there. It's a great quality for a young point guard."Clark held McCausland, the Big Ten's most accurate 3-point shooter at 56 percent, to one 3-point basket in four tries.
"We knew we couldn't give him too many good looks," Clark said. "Coach said, 'Kevin, that's your man.' I wasn't planning on scoring too many points today."
Minnesota limited Iowa to just two baskets in the final 12 minutes of the first half to overcome a seven-point deficit and take a 24-21 lead at halftime.
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| Iowa forward J.R. Koch and Minnesota center Joel Przybilla battle for a rebound Saturday. (AP) |
Iowa made only five baskets in the first half, shooting a miserable 19 percent, but the Hawkeyes stayed in the game by making 11 of 12 free throws.
Iowa improved in the second half, shooting 53 percent, to finish the game at 38 percent, its poorest shooting performance of the season.
"It was really just good defense on Minnesota's part," said Davis. "We were struggling right from the start. We looked a step slow, going to the boards, to the basket, up and down the floor.
"But tomorrow is our day off and then it's back to the drawing board."
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