Buzzer-beater sinks Hawkeyes in exhibition finale, 76-74

IOWA CITY — Iowa knew it was in for an exhibition tussle, but that didn't mean they could stop what was coming.

Orange City, Iowa native Daniel Jansen hit a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer, and Division II preseason No. 1 Augustana (S.D.) upset the Hawkeyes, 76-74, in a men's basketball exhibition game Friday night before 12,874 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'There's two ways to look at this game,' Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'You can schedule it, or not. We could have found a team that won eight games last year very easily. We scheduled a team that won 31 games last year. Most teams won't play them. But I felt, you know what, we needed a game like this right here.'

The Hawkeyes jumped out 12-2 as Augustana missed 14 of its first 15 shots. Once the Vikings assumed control over the offensive and defensive boards and started making 3-pointers (six in the first half), Iowa was on the wrong end of a 31-9 burst and trailed by double digits.

'They made six threes in the first half because we kept over-rotating to the ball,' McCaffery said. 'Which we were working all week on not doing.'

Junior-college transfer Dale Jones drained a pair of 3-pointers late in the first half, and two free throws from Peter Jok pulled the Hawkeyes within 40-34 at the break.

'My mindset was to come out there with a lot of energy,' said Jones, who finished with eight points.

Augustana began the second half with a 21-10 burst and their lead ballooned to as large as 15 with 14:42 to go at 61-46. Iowa found some consistent offensive success once guards Mike Gesell and Anthony Clemmons began penetrating to the basket. Four Gesell buckets in a four-minute span helped pull Iowa within 63-56 with 9:51 to go.

'I think I was being aggressive all game,' said Gesell, who tallied 14 points and nine assists. 'It wasn't necessarily falling in the first half, I think. Our motion game wasn't great in the first half. We weren't opening up driving lanes as much.'

Iowa got as close as two on two occasions down the stretch, and appeared ready to force overtime when Jok drained a 3-pointer with 28.3 seconds left to tie the game at 74-74. After an Augustana timeout with 11.4 seconds left, Jansen fielded a pass, dribbled left on his former AAU teammate and Iowa center Adam Woodbury, then back right, bobbled slightly before regaining control and fired from the elbow for the game-winner.

'I played good D, he made a good shot,' Woodbury said.

'You've just got to tell Jansen, 'You know what, great play,'' McCaffery added. 'We pressed up on everybody, we made them use all the clock. He made a contested shot. You don't want to foul him. You don't want to give him an uncontested layup. If they're going to beat you, it's going to be a tough two. He made a tough two.'

Jok led Iowa with 21 points, while Woodbury scored six with 14 rebounds.

Augustana outrebounded Iowa, 42-35, and outscored the Hawkeyes in the paint, 40-36. Iowa missed 39 shots and pulled down just 10 offensive rebounds.

'I would like to think we would have rebounded better,' McCaffery said. 'If you look at the stats, that is the one area that is disappointing. … I think the game right there is where we lost it.'

Jansen finished with 19 for Augustana, while teammate Casey Schilling poured in 20 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds.

'It's funny, sometimes it seems you almost apologize for being Division II,' Augustana Coach Tom Billeter said. 'We have kids good enough to play D-1, trust me.'

Friday was the first exhibition defeat for Iowa since losing to the Harlem Globetrotters in 2002. Freshman Isaiah Moss was not in uniform and McCaffery announced he would red-shirt this season.

Iowa opens the regular season next Nov. 13 against Gardner-Webb at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com