Northwestern
Iona
Men's Basketball Pulls Through Against Iona, 69-67
12/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2000
CAROLINA, Puerto Rico -
Tavaras Hardy led Northwestern with 16 points as NU defeated Iona, 69-67, in the consolation round of the San Juan Shootout in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
NU pulls even at 5-5 overall, matching their total wins from last year. The game marks the `Cats first win away from Welsh-Ryan Arena since the 1999 Big Ten Tournament, when they defeated Penn State, 54-44, on March 4.
Iona, who averaged 25 wins per season in the past five years, falls to 6-4.
Northwestern will face Evansville in the tournament's fifth-place game tomorrow at 12:15 central time.
The Wildcats shot 45.8 percent from the field but shot 77 percent from the free-throw line, making 20-of-26, a vast difference from last night's 9-of-19 against Kent State.
The `Cats trailed by one at half, 29-28, after Ed McCants hit a three pointer with 50 seconds left and Jitim Young hit two free throws. The Wildcats burst out in the second half taking a six point lead in the first five minutes of action, 42-36.
Iona came back and took the lead, 48-46, with 10:40 left to play. The two teams battled back and forth until Young hit a driving layup to tie the game at 50 with eight minutes left. The Wildcats never trailed after that.
Along with Hardy's 16 points, he also pulled down six boards and went 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Three other NU players hit double figures, Ben Johnson with 15 points, McCants with 11 and Young had ten.
