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By JAMES ALLAN
hawkeyesports.com
WASHINGTON D.C. — No. 10 seed Indiana scored 52 points in the second half to run away from the seventh-seeded University of Iowa men’s basketball team, handing the Hawkeyes a 95-73 defeat Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament at the Verizon Center.
The Hawkeyes fought back from a 10-point first-half deficit to take a 44-43 lead with 19:06 remaining in the game. Iowa led 48-47 with 17:04 to play before the Hoosiers used a 20-4 run to take control, building a 67-52 lead.
Indiana’s second-half spurt was 44-14; the Hoosiers led as many as 31 points.
“They had a 12-2 run and 10-2 run in first half and we kept our composure,” said UI head coach Fran McCaffery. “In the second half, we did not. We let it get away because of our poor shot selection and we weren’t connected defensively the way you need to be to play Indiana.”
The Hoosiers shot 67.9 percent in the second half, making 19-of-28 field goals and 6-of-8 3-pointers. Indiana finished with a 60.3 field goal percentage for the game, made 12 3-pointers, and went 13-of-19 from the free throw stripe.
“We were pretty locked in when they made their first run in the first half,” said freshman Jordan Bohannon, who tied Iowa Big Ten Tournament records with six 3-pointers and 10 assists. “When they made that run in the second half, we weren’t able to execute our stuff.
“They shot the ball well; we have to give credit to them.”
Indiana won the rebounding battle, 38-29, outscored Iowa 46-32 in the paint and its reserves had a 35-17 advantage in bench points.
Bohannon kept the Hawkeyes in the game in the first half, making three 3-pointers in the game’s first eight minutes, including back-to-back triples to give Iowa a 19-17 lead. Indiana responded with four consecutive 3-pointers to build a 29-19 lead.
Bohannon’s fourth 3-pointer cut Iowa’s deficit to 29-24 and his fifth 3-ball made the score 36-31. Iowa trailed 43-40 at the break after scoring nine of the half’s final 12 points.
Bohannon led Iowa with 24 points, making 7-of-13 field goals, including 6-of-11 3-pointers. The freshman guard also had 10 assists to tally his first career double-double.
Freshman Cordell Pemsl scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to record his first career double-double, while redshirt freshman Isaiah Moss added 11 points, five steals, and three assists in 28 minutes.
Leading scorer Peter Jok was limited to nine points on 4-of-11 shooting; Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year Nicholas Baer scored three points, making 1-of-4 field goals.
The Hawkeyes shot 44.6 percent from the floor for the game and went 9-of-26 from 3-point range.
Indiana had four players reach double figures with James Blackmon, Jr., leading the team with 23 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. The Hoosiers got 35 points from its reserves.
Iowa (18-14) will learn its postseason fate Sunday.
