Iowa ekes out a victory

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By Steve Batterson | Sunday, December 30, 2007 12:06 AM CST | () comments

Iowa's Jeff Peterson (30), loses the ball as he drives to the basket between Southeastern Louisiana's Warrell Span (2), Patrick Sullivan, left, and Dekyron Nicks (5), during the first half of this college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2007, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

IOWA CITY — Iowa isn’t exactly riding a wave of momentum into its Big Ten basketball opener.

The Hawkeyes did grind out a 57-50 win Saturday night over Southeastern Louisiana, but have likely lost starter Jarryd Cole to an ACL injury for an extended period.

Further tests will determine the freshman’s status as the Hawkeyes prepare for a conference-opening test on Wednesday from 13th-ranked Indiana.

“When Jarryd went down, I came in and tried to pick it up. That’s all you can do,” said Cyrus Tate, who scored all 10 of his points after Cole left the close game. “The way I see it, all I can do is come in and try my best to help.”

The Hawkeyes found help from a lot of different places as they struggled to overcome a 37.2 percent shooting performance.

“This was a huge win for us, something we needed after a couple of losses,” said J.R. Angle, who came off the bench to contribute a career-high 10 points. “When you come into a game like this, you just want to be a spark. I hit a couple of shots and in the end, things turned out to be all right.”

Tony Freeman made sure of that.

He finished off the Southland Conference team that earned a win at Penn State a year ago. The junior who led a group of four Hawkeyes in double figures with 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

His 3-pointer from the left corner with 3 minutes, 1 second remaining gave moved the Hawkeyes ahead, 46-44. Iowa rallied from a double-digit deficit.

Freeman scored eight of his points in the final minutes, including a pair on free throws with 37 seconds to play after he stole the ball from Southeastern Louisiana’s Tavaris Nance under the Lions’ bucket.

“Freeman really gave them a lift down the stretch. He hit some big baskets that made a difference,” Southeastern Louisiana coach Jim Yarbrough said.

The effort came as Iowa hit nine straight free throws over the final 1:06 to preserve the win.

“The way we struggled early, it was difficult, but our guys maintained their focus and when you do that, you give yourself a chance,” Iowa coach Todd Lickliter said. “They could have hung their heads, but they didn’t and they were rewarded for that.”

A strong move to the basket by Cole with 11:52 remaining handed Iowa a 32-31 lead, its first since the game’s opening 5 minutes.

Cole tumbled to court in pain, clutching his left knee. He left with the assistance of trainers and returned to the bench several minutes later with warmup pants covering a heavily-iced knee.

The injury came near the end of a frenzied 16-4 run by Iowa, which trailed by as many as 14 points late in the first half and was down seven at intermission.

Critical 3-point baskets by Justin Johnson and Angle allowed the Hawkeyes to cut deeply into the 27-18 lead the Lions enjoyed early in the second half.

The rally came after a quick start by Iowa, which opened a 5-0 lead on a 3-pointer by Johnson 56 seconds into the game.

But the Hawkeyes went scoreless for the next 12½ minutes, ending a string of 17 unanswered points when Freeman hit the second of two free-throw opportunities with 6:31 remaining in the opening half.

Iowa’s drought from the field did not end until Freeman, open from 23 feet on the left wing, buried a 3-pointer with 4:29 to play in the first half. The bucket cut into Southeastern Louisiana’s 20-6 lead.

“We continued to defend, and that in the end, was pretty valuable,” Lickliter said.

Freeman’s 3-pointer was followed by another by Angle.

However, it wasn’t enough to prevent the Lions from holding onto a 25-18 lead at the break against an Iowa team that saw its starting five contribute five points on 2-for-11 shooting during the first half.

“It’s tough when you go through something like that, but we toughed it out, we got more aggressive in the second half and we found a way,” Tate said.

Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com.

Iowa items- For the first time since the 1942-43 season, Iowa did not reach 70 points in a game against a non-conference opponent. The most the Hawkeyes have scored on their way to a 7-6 start was 67 in an overtime loss to Louisiana-Monroe. Saturday’s win allowed Iowa to avoid its first seven-loss season outside of Big Ten play in 34 years.

- When Tony Freeman hit the second of two free throws with 6:31 remaining in the first half, it marked Iowa’s first chances from the line in 54 minutes, 53 seconds of action including the final 1:24 of a Dec. 8 game at Iowa State and the entire 40 minutes of a Dec. 14 game with Drake.

- Dan Bohall suited up for the first time in four games on Saturday. The sophomore did not play and has not since pleading guilty to public intoxication charges following an incident during the early-morning hours on Dec. 2.

- Iowa opens Big Ten play on Wednesday, hosting Indiana at 8 p.m. The Hoosiers (11-1) will be the first rated opponent the Hawkeyes have faced this season.