Iowa's upset attempt falls short

Big crowd, Big Ten, big upset? Almost.

Held together with bailing wire, sheet metal and a tenacious will, Iowa couldn't keep up with No. 20 Ohio State in a 65-57 loss tonight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Ohio State improves to 15-6 (5-3 Big Ten) while Iowa falls to 8-13 (2-6).

Iowa led Ohio State 50-45 with 4:44 left in the game, but the Buckeyes scored on their last 11 possessions including a 20-5 run that put the game out of reach.

Iowa sophomore Matt Gatens played despite a badly sprained left ankle and has scored six points. When he left the game he stood at the end of the bench and could not sit.

Freshman Eric May led Iowa with 18 points.

At one point in the first half Iowa trailed by five, but rallied with a 9-0 run. The Hawkeyes scored the last five points of the first half, highlighted by a reverse layup by freshman point guard Cully Payne, who fell down in the process.

Iowa hit 9 of 23 shots (39.1 percent) while Ohio State hit 40 percent from the field.

David Lighty led Ohio State with 20 points. Evan Turner scored 16 points.