Northwestern
Iowa
Northwestern Falls at Iowa, 56-51
2/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2009
Box Score
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Craig Moore scored a game-high 20 points, but Iowa ended Northwestern's three-game winning streak by topping the Wildcats 56-51 Saturday evening at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Devan Bawinkel hit a 3-pointer with a minute remaining that put the Hawkeyes ahead for good.
NU (12-8, 4-6 Big Ten) trailed 45-43 with under two minutes to go before a three-point play by Luka Mirkovic put the Wildcats up by one with 1:29 left. However, Bawinkel answered with a triple from right in front of the Hawkeyes' bench with a minute left to put the hosts back up by two.
Northwestern turned the ball over on the other end and Iowa was able to seal the victory by connecting on eight straight free throw attempts over the final 30 seconds of play.
Jeremy Nash's 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left got the Wildcats within three, but Jeff Peterson hit a pair from the charity stripe to clinch the win for Iowa (13-11, 3-8).
Neither team shot particularly well with Northwestern connecting on 37.5 percent (18-48) of its field goals, while Iowa made 35.0 percent (14-40). Only two of the Hawkeyes' field goals and 10 of their attempts came from two-point territory.
The Wildcats and Hawkeyes entered the contest ranked second and third, respectively, in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made per game and that strength was on display for both teams in the first half.
NU trailed 6-5 early before a pair of triples by Matt Gatens and one apiece by Bawinkel and Jake Kelly helped Iowa to surge ahead 18-7 was just over 12 minutes remaining in the opening half.
However, two treys by Moore and two free throws by Jeff Ryan allowed Northwestern to go on an eight-point run to close within three points. In the meantime, the Wildcats' defense stiffened, holding the hosts without a point for nearly seven minutes.
Iowa would eventually take a 24-21 advantage into the intermission. The Hawkeyes nailed seven of 17 3-point attempts over the first half of play but didn't covert any of their mere three two-point tries.
NU forced 11 first-half turnovers by Iowa and turned them into 12 points.
The Wildcats took a brief one-point lead early in the second half, but Iowa stretched its advantage out to seven at 40-33 with under seven minutes to go. However, a triple by Moore and baskets by Mirkovic and Nash tied the game with 4:33 left.
Peterson and Moore traded 3-pointers before Kelly converted twice from the line to put Iowa up two with 3:08 remaining. Neither team scored again until Mirkovic converted the three-point play with 89 seconds remaining. But Bawinkel's trey helped the Hawkeyes snap their four-game losing streak.
Moore hit six treys in the game for the Wildcats. His 18 attempts from beyond the arc set a school record, are a tie for the third most by a Big Ten player in a game in conference history and the most ever by an individual against a league opponent.
Northwestern returns to action at 8 p.m. Thursday as it hosts Illinois at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Limited tickets are still available and can be purchased online at NUsports.com or by calling 847-491-CATS.\
