Iowa Falls In Paradise Jam Finale

Stats | Boxscore

Nov. 22, 2010

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St. Thomas, USVI — Missed opportunities down the stretch and on the defensive glass led to Iowa closing out the 2010 Paradise Jam with a tight 78-72 loss to Long Beach State on Monday afternoon.

The Hawkeyes found themselves in a position to steal a victory over the 49ers, but missed free throws and costly misses allowed LBSU to run out six point winners. After an Eric May lay-up cut the deficit to three (73-70) with 2:11 remaining, Iowa missed the first of three free throws in the closing minutes. The Hawkeyes were still in a position to battle for a win, but Jarryd Cole missed a contested lay-up that would have cut the deficit to two with 20 seconds to play.

Long Beach State came out quickly in the second half, as the 49ers drained three long balls – two from Greg Plater – in the opening four minutes to build a seven point advantage (44-37). Junior Bryce Cartwright then ignited an 8-0 run that saw the Hawkeyes turn their seven point deficit into a 45-44 lead. Cartwright netted six of the eight points during the spurt.

“The beginning of the second half was not so good,” said UI head coach Fran McCaffery. “We give up a turnover and made three for them. We can’t allow Plater to make five threes, three of which were wide open. Reality is, we can break the game down and talk about 900 different things. The game was lost with 21 offensive rebounds. You give up 21 offensive rebounds and you’re not beating anybody.”

After Iowa gained the lead, T.J. Robinson followed with a lay-up and Plater bombed his third three of the half to give LBSU the advantage, a lead that would stretch to as many as eight (59-51) at the 10:24 mark. The Hawkeyes kept battling, as they pulled to within four courtesy of a May long ball at the 7:40 mark. The sophomore then managed to pull Iowa to within a field goal, when he knocked down his third trey, making the score 73-70 with 2:11 to play.

The Hawkeyes were sharp in the first half, as they turned a 15-13 deficit into a 27-15 advantage over a two-minute stretch. Roy Devyn Marble ignited the run with a lay-up at the 11:24 mark before Cartwright closed out the spurt with a three-pointer at the 9:16 mark to give Iowa the 12-point advantage.

As quickly as Iowa built its lead, Long Beach State immediately answered. The 49ers scored the next six points to pull to within six before trimming the deficit to two at 33-31 heading into the locker room.

Iowa’s bench, once again, was super productive, as it outscored the LBSU reserves, 42-4. Cartwright and Marble scored 17 and 11, respectively, off the bench, while May was the only starter in double digits, finishing with 15. All five LBSU players reached double figures with Plater pacing the way with 18 points.

The Hawkeyes (2-3) will return to action at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday afternoon against SIU Edwardsville beginning at 5:35 p.m.