Northwestern
Iowa
Northwestern Comes Up Short at Iowa, 53-51
2/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2008
Box Score
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Craig Moore posted his first career double-double, recording 15 points and 11 rebounds, but Northwestern suffered a painstaking 53-51 loss to Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday night.
Leading by double digits midway through the second half, the Wildcats (7-17, 0-13) saw the Hawkeyes (12-15, 5-9) storm back to take a six-point lead late and then held off NU in the closing seconds.
The first half proved to be less than a thing of beauty as both squads struggled on the offensive end. In fact, Northwestern held Iowa without a field goal through the first eight minutes and 45 seconds of the contest.
However, the Wildcats had their own struggles and when Jake Kelly finally converted on a layup, it cut Northwestern's lead to just 5-3. It didn't get much easier for either team the rest of the way, but Jason Okrzesik's second 3-pointer of the opening half gave the 'Cats a 17-15 edge going into the break.
The Wildcats limited the Hawkeyes to just four first-half field goals in 19 attempts (21.1 percent) while forcing eight turnovers. Moore surpassed his previous career high for rebounds in the first half alone with eight.
The intermission seemed to do wonders for both teams' offense, first for NU as the second half opened. Led by six points by Moore and five apiece by Okrzesik and Kevin Coble, the Wildcats opened the half on a 19-7 run to take their largest lead of the contest at 36-22 with 12:25 remaining.
However, Iowa then finally discovered its offense. The Hawkeyes used the tandem of Cyrus Tate and Tony Freeman to storm back and go ahead 45-41 with 5:17 to go. Freeman hit a trio of 3-pointers and Tate had eight points during the surprising turn of events.
A basket by Tate gave Iowa it's largest lead of six at 51-45 with 2:39 left, but Northwestern refused to go away. Moore hit a deep 3 to cut the deficit in half before Tate responded with two free throws on the other end. Coble responded with another trey to get the 'Cats within two with 1:43 still left.
NU got a stop on the defensive end, setting up a wild final minute of play. Incredibly, the hosts had benefited from a lopsided discrepancy in fouls over the first 39 minutes of the contest, as Northwestern was whistled 19 times to only six for the Hawkeyes, including only two in the second half.
Iowa used up two of its fouls to give before Moore launched a deep 3-pointer that would have given the Wildcats the lead. But Tate was able to haul in the miss and was fouled immediately with 9.6 seconds remaining. With the Hawkeyes in the double bonus, Tate missed twice from the line, giving NU another chance.
Freeman took another of Iowa's fouls to give with 4.6 seconds left and the Hawkeyes called a timeout. Moore was able to get a decent look at a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but his attempt came up just short as Iowa was able to hold on.
Tate had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawkeyes, while Freeman added 14. Coble scored 12 points for the Wildcats, while Okrzesik had a solid outing with 11 points and five assists.
Northwestern returns to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Indiana at a sold-out Welsh-Ryan Arena.
