The Iowa Hawkeyes blistered the nets for 65 percent shooting in the second half as they pulled away from Penn State 79-63 in Big Ten action in Iowa City. The Hawks led 28-27 at the halftime break before scoring 51 points in the second half to improve to 3-3 in the Big Ten and 11-9 overall.
Iowa coach Steve Alford says it was a pivotal game for both teams as both needed a win badly. Alford says his team settled down offensively and also played very good defense. He says they were more selective on their shots and got the transition game going too.
The Hawkeyes won the game despite losing another rebounding battle. Alford says their rebounding was a glaring weakness, but he says the took care of the ball with only 8 turnovers.
Adam Haluska led Iowa with 24 points, including four of seven from three point range. Tyler Smith added 19 points and senior guard Mike Henderson had a solid outing with 12 points, three assists and two steals. Alford says Henderson was the difference in the game the way he played defense.
The Drake Bulldogs rallied in the second half at Wichita state but the deficit was too much to overcome. trailing 69-51 the Bulldogs pulled two within two on a couple of occasions late in the game but the Shockers made their free throws down the stretch to hold on for an 82-77 win. Freshman guard Josh Young and senior center Alou Keita led Drake with 15 points, the Bulldogs drop to 2-8 in the Valley.
In womens’ basketball action from last night, the Iowa State Cyclones lost at sixth ranked Oklahoma 69-49 in the Big 12. The Sooners took command early in the second half with a 13-3 run to build a 45-29 lead. They are now 7-0 in the Big 12 and 17-1 overall. ISU drops to 3-4 in the conference and 15-5 overall.