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No. 22 Minnesota Edges Iowa; No. 16 Xavier Wins
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Friday, January 9, 2009
Lawrence Westbrook and Travis Busch each scored 10 points, No. 22 Minnesota rallied from a 13-point deficit and then hung on to beat host Iowa, 52-49, last night.
The Golden Gophers (14-1, 2-1 Big Ten) shot just 33.9 percent and nearly let the game slip away in the closing seconds.
Minnesota led 50-44 with 24.5 seconds left. Jake Kelly of Iowa (11-5, 1-2) scored and Al Nolen of Minnesota missed two free throws. Jeff Peterson buried an open three-pointer from the corner with 5.3 seconds left to make it a one-point game, but Westbrook hit two free throws. Kelly's shot from just inside half court bounced off the rim.
"It was really, really, really ugly. But whenever you win you can't get too mad," Westbrook said. "I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty."
Minnesota, which trailed 23-10, held Iowa to 23 points in the second half.
Peterson had 16 points for Iowa, which played most of the game without forward Cyrus Tate.
Iowa officials said Tate -- the only Hawkeye averaging more than four rebounds a game entering play -- apparently had sprained his ankle midway through the first half.
Minnesota held Iowa to one field goal in the first 15 minutes of the second half, and Paul Carter's long jumper with 10 minutes 12 seconds left gave the Gophers a 33-31 lead, their first since early in the game.
Minnesota took its biggest lead at 41-33 on Damian Johnson's layup with 5:17 left.
Matt Gatens snapped Iowa out of its funk, hitting consecutive three-pointers to help the Hawkeyes inch within 43-39, but Nolen responded with a three-pointer with 3:35 left.
ยท XAVIER 70, SAINT LOUIS 44: Derrick Brown didn't miss a shot while scoring 20 points and C.J. Anderson added 13 as the No. 16 Musketeers rolled over the visiting Billikens in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams.
Brown was 6 for 6 from the field, including three three-pointers, and made all five of his free throws.
