IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Greg Brunner scored 16 points and No. 20 Iowa survived a stretch of ragged play in the second half to beat Colgate 73-51 on Tuesday night in the second round of the Guardians Classic.
Adam Haluska added 14 points and Jeff Horner 13 for the Hawkeyes (2-0), who advanced to the semifinals against No. 8 Kentucky in Kansas City on Monday night. But getting there wasn’t as easy as it might appear.
After trailing by 19 in the first half, Colgate (1-1) hit eight of its first nine shots in the second half and went on a 19-7 run to cut the lead to 49-43.
Kendall Chones, a 6-foot-7, 255-pound sophomore, gave the Hawkeyes trouble inside with a dunk and three other baskets, one of them on a goaltending call, and Alvin Reed hit two long 3-pointers.
The Raiders got no closer, though, and Iowa eventually regained control with a 13-0 run. Brunner scored six points in that stretch and drew a charge on Chones, his fourth foul, and Haluska finished the burst with a deep 3-pointer, making it 68-45 with 6 minutes to play.
Chones finished with 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting to lead Colgate, Kyle Roemer scored 12 and Reed 11. Erek Hansen contributed 11 points and eight rebounds for Iowa. Brunner also grabbed eight rebounds and Horner had eight assists.
Few things went right while the Hawkeyes were struggling early in the second half. They twice stole the ball and then promptly gave it right back, they missed free throws and Brunner missed a dunk, though he came back seconds later to hit a layup.
Iowa was much sharper in the first half. Coach Steve Alford used nine players during the half and eight of them scored.
Horner hit two 3-pointers and converted a three-point play to help the Hawkeyes build a 17-4 lead. Haluska’s 3-pointer made it 28-11 and Iowa led 37-18 when Brunner, who usually does his scoring inside, nailed a 3 from the top of the key.
It was 42-24 at halftime, but when Iowa made only two baskets in the first 6:50 of the second half, Colgate got back in it.