Illinis Hold Off Hawkeyes
The Associated Press
February 19, 2005, 1:48 PM CST IOWA CITY
Deron Williams and Dee Brown each scored 18 points and No. 1 Illinois turned back repeated threats from Iowa to remain unbeaten with a 75-65 victory Saturday. Illinois (27-0, 13-0 Big Ten) survived foul problems, a determined opponent and a subpar game by leading scorer Luther Head to keep several streaks intact. The Illini are off to their best start ever, have won 23 straight conference games and now have 14 consecutive road victories. A gritty effort wasn't quite enough for Iowa (16-9, 4-8), which fell to 1-4 since leading scorer Pierre Pierce was kicked off the team. The Hawkeyes trailed by just two points with 4½ minutes to play before a 14-5 run finished them off. Every Illinois starter had at least three fouls and forward Roger Powell, who was whistled four times, was limited to 15 minutes. James Augustine added 13 points for the Illini, while Head, averaging 16.9, managed just seven on 1-for-7 shooting. Adam Haluska led Iowa with 20 points, while Greg Brunner had 15 and Jeff Horner 12. Roughly 3,500 orange-clad Illinois fans swelled the crowd to a sellout, just the second for Iowa this season. Both sides had plenty to cheer during the intense game, one team battling to stay perfect, the other trying to keep its fading NCAA tournament hopes alive. Trailing by 12 early in the second half, Iowa kept clawing and got within two points three times, the last at 60-58 on Mike Henderson's two free throws with 4:34 left. Then, as they have done all season when threatened, the Illini responded.Nick Smith made two free throws, Williams hit a 10-footer and the ultra-quick Brown scored on a breakaway to make it 66-58. After Horner drained a 3-pointer, Brown answered with a deep 3 of his own. When the 7-foot-2 Smith drained a fadeaway 3 from the right corner -- his second of the season -- with 51 seconds to play, the Illini were up 72-63 and -- finally -- out of danger. Iowa slowed Illinois for much of the first half with solid defense, starting out in man-to-man, switching to zone and then back to man. The Illini often had to go deep into the 35-second clock before getting a shot and once were forced into a violation. The Hawkeyes led 11-7 after holding Illinois scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes. Williams ended the drought with a 3-pointer and the teams went back and forth until Horner passed out of a double team to Erek Hansen for a wide-open dunk, tying the score at 20. Powell then made two free throws, Williams followed with a jumper and the Illini never trailed again. Williams high-arcing shot in the lane with 3 seconds left gave Illinois a 36-28 halftime lead and he started the second half with two jumpers to make it 40-28. The Illini then went more than 5 minutes without a field goal and Iowa responded with a 10-1 run, drawing to 41-38 on Horner's 3 from the top of the key. The pattern never changed after that: Iowa threatened and Illinois answered. Copyright © 2005, The Associated Press
February 19, 2005, 1:48 PM CST IOWA CITY
Deron Williams and Dee Brown each scored 18 points and No. 1 Illinois turned back repeated threats from Iowa to remain unbeaten with a 75-65 victory Saturday. Illinois (27-0, 13-0 Big Ten) survived foul problems, a determined opponent and a subpar game by leading scorer Luther Head to keep several streaks intact. The Illini are off to their best start ever, have won 23 straight conference games and now have 14 consecutive road victories. A gritty effort wasn't quite enough for Iowa (16-9, 4-8), which fell to 1-4 since leading scorer Pierre Pierce was kicked off the team. The Hawkeyes trailed by just two points with 4½ minutes to play before a 14-5 run finished them off. Every Illinois starter had at least three fouls and forward Roger Powell, who was whistled four times, was limited to 15 minutes. James Augustine added 13 points for the Illini, while Head, averaging 16.9, managed just seven on 1-for-7 shooting. Adam Haluska led Iowa with 20 points, while Greg Brunner had 15 and Jeff Horner 12. Roughly 3,500 orange-clad Illinois fans swelled the crowd to a sellout, just the second for Iowa this season. Both sides had plenty to cheer during the intense game, one team battling to stay perfect, the other trying to keep its fading NCAA tournament hopes alive. Trailing by 12 early in the second half, Iowa kept clawing and got within two points three times, the last at 60-58 on Mike Henderson's two free throws with 4:34 left. Then, as they have done all season when threatened, the Illini responded.Nick Smith made two free throws, Williams hit a 10-footer and the ultra-quick Brown scored on a breakaway to make it 66-58. After Horner drained a 3-pointer, Brown answered with a deep 3 of his own. When the 7-foot-2 Smith drained a fadeaway 3 from the right corner -- his second of the season -- with 51 seconds to play, the Illini were up 72-63 and -- finally -- out of danger. Iowa slowed Illinois for much of the first half with solid defense, starting out in man-to-man, switching to zone and then back to man. The Illini often had to go deep into the 35-second clock before getting a shot and once were forced into a violation. The Hawkeyes led 11-7 after holding Illinois scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes. Williams ended the drought with a 3-pointer and the teams went back and forth until Horner passed out of a double team to Erek Hansen for a wide-open dunk, tying the score at 20. Powell then made two free throws, Williams followed with a jumper and the Illini never trailed again. Williams high-arcing shot in the lane with 3 seconds left gave Illinois a 36-28 halftime lead and he started the second half with two jumpers to make it 40-28. The Illini then went more than 5 minutes without a field goal and Iowa responded with a 10-1 run, drawing to 41-38 on Horner's 3 from the top of the key. The pattern never changed after that: Iowa threatened and Illinois answered. Copyright © 2005, The Associated Press
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