Challenged, U stands tall

Jennifer Simonson, ALL

Minnesota's Lawrence Westbrook, 20, right, and Iowa Hawkeye guard Jeff Peterson, 30, scrambled for the ball during the second half. Minnesota defeated Iowa, 63-50.

The Gophers men's basketball team let a lead get away vs. Iowa, then made a determined push for a victory.

By MYRON P. MEDCALF, Star Tribune

Last update: February 10, 2008 - 11:12 PM

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GOPHERS 63, IOWA 50

Up next: 8 p.m. Tuesday vs. Illinois • Williams Arena • TV: Big Ten Network (830-AM)

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Here the Gophers were for the third time in four home games on Saturday, once again battling in a close contest, this time against Iowa. Members of the Williams Arena sellout crowd already had been teased twice in back-to-back five-point losses to Michigan State and Indiana last month.

Iowa was down nine at halftime, but a second-half surge put the Hawkeyes ahead by a point.

"It kind of hit me by surprise," Gophers center Spencer Tollackson said. "I didn't really see how they got back in it."

This time, however, the Gophers satisfied the home crowd, earning a 63-50 Big Ten men's basketball victory in front of an announced 14,625 fans by dominating the rebounding war and forcing 21 turnovers -- which led to 21 points, many scored on fast breaks.

Tollackson hit two free throws with 11 minutes, 3 seconds remaining, kicking off a 22-8 run to end the game and enable the Gophers (15-7, 5-5 Big Ten) to halt their three-game home losing streak, a run that also included a 16-point loss to Wisconsin a week ago.

Freshman guard Al Nolen's all-around game -- 11 points, eight assists, three steals and only two turnovers in 29 minutes off the bench -- propelled the Gophers into a stifling defensive second half, one in which Iowa hit only 40 percent of its shots, after making 55.6 percent in the first half.

Gophers coach Tubby Smith kept Blake Hoffarber and Jamal Abu-Shamala in the starting lineup for the second game in a row because he wanted a strong start by his team. The Gophers responded by building a 10-3 lead against the Big Ten's second-best scoring defense. Hoffarber had five points during that opening stretch.

"I think the lineup change was a great move by Coach," Nolen said. "They got us off to a really, really good start, and we haven't had that a lot in the past."

But bad habits caught up to the Gophers early after halftime. Misdirected passes, seven turnovers and a loss of composure gave the Hawkeyes the opportunity to go on a 17-7 run to open the second half and take a 42-41 lead with 11:16 remaining on Cyrus Tate's three-point play.

Justin Johnson led the way for the Hawkeyes (11-14, 4-8) with 15 points. Tony Freeman scored 12 points on four three-pointers, the one shot that kept Iowa in the game -- 21 of its 38 field-goal attempts were from beyond the arc.

But the Gophers played through it all. After Tollackson's two free throws put them ahead, Nolen scored the next seven points for the Gophers, then drove and dished to Damien Johnson for a dunk. Hoffarber then hit a three-pointer that built the Gophers' lead to 57-45.

Iowa had only two offensive rebounds the entire game, getting outrebounded 31-23. The Gophers made 14 of 27 shots in the paint; the Hawkeyes were only 4-for-10.

Smith said the Gophers are beginning to build some necessary momentum, after winning two in a row.

"If we want to have an opportunity to stay in this race, this Big Ten race, then ... every game is paramount," he said. "There's a sense of urgency we've got to play with, and I thought we did that today."