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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
HONOLULU (AP) -- Iowa coach Steve Alford admitted his team
struggled.
After his Hawkeyes escaped with a 69-68 victory over
Detroit-Mercy in the opening round of the Rainbow Classic on
Thursday night, the second-year coach said, "We had 26 minutes of
good toughness and 14 minutes of not-so-good toughness. It nearly
cost us."
That it did.
|  | | Reggie Evans had 16 points and nine boards for Iowa, the first time this season he didn't finish with a double-double. |
After taking a 12-point lead in the first half, the Hawkeyes
(10-1, No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 23 AP) found themselves 10 points behind in the second half and
then struggled to catch up.
Luke Recker, held in check for most of the game, hit a 3-pointer
with 1:47 left and Glen Worley added two free throws a minute later
to give Iowa the points it needed to win.
The Titans were ahead 66-63 with 4:26 left when Reggie Evans cut
the margin to two with a free throw.
Recker then followed with his 3-pointer that put the Hawkeyes
ahead 67-66, their first lead since midway through the first half.
Worley's free throws made it a three-point game.
Rashad Phillips scored for Detroit-Mercy and, after Recker
missed a shot with 10 seconds left, Willie Green missed a shot from
inside the foul line and Iowa grabbed the rebound to preserve the
win.
Iowa will play Tennessee (No. 5 ESPN/USA Today, No. 6 AP), which beat George Washington
92-81, in Friday's semifinals.
Because of the youthfulness of his team, Alford will have to
show some patience as it develops and gets ready for the Big Ten.
"I've got to be patient," he said. "We've got a lot of new
faces that are playing. Only experience is going to help us and we
need experiences like this.
"These kids have got some resilience in them and they're
getting tougher."
It was a heartbreaker for the Titans (8-4).
"It looked like it was down and it just came out,"
Detroit-Mercy coach Perry Watson said of Green's final shot. "It
was a great shot and a great game."
Phillips had 18 points and eight assists for the Titans (8-4),
who led 56-46 with 10:56 to play.
But Iowa's Dean Oliver led the comeback, getting 14 of his 18
points in the second half.
Each team went on big runs in the first 20 minutes with the
Titans taking a 33-31 halftime lead by closing with an 18-4 spurt.
The Hawkeyes went ahead 27-15 by outscoring Detroit-Mercy 16-4
midway through the first half, but the Titans responded with their
run which was highlighted by 10 points by Phillips.
Recker, who entered the game averaging 21.4 points, finished
with 10 points, while Evans had 16 points and nine rebounds, the
first time this season he failed to register a double-double.
Green finished with 15 points for the Titans and Terrell Riggs
added 12.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Iowa Clubhouse
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