Hawkeyes can’t finish furious rally against Dayton

ORLANDO, Fla. — Playing just beyond Disney's Magic Kingdom, Iowa almost pulled off a comeback worthy of a fairy tale in a game reminiscent of March Madness. In the end, though, the Hawkeyes could not muster a heroic ending as they suffered their first loss of the season, an 82-77 defeat against Dayton in the nightcap of the opening round at the AdvoCare Invitational.

Jarrod Uthoff scored a team-high 18 points and Peter Jok added 12 points as Iowa almost overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half.

After Dayton scored the first six points of the game, Uthoff's pull-up jumper and deep shot beyond the arc before Adam Woodbury's basket gave Iowa its first lead of the game. The two teams then exchanged the lead nine times before Charles Cooke's second three-pointer of the game put Dayton ahead 27-25 with a little less than five minutes left in the first half, a lead that would increase to as much as seven before the break with the Flyers holding a 45-39 advantage at the half.

In the second half, Dayton — buoyed by a raucous red contingent in the record-setting crowd of 4,871 — scored seven straight points and increased its lead to 14 twice before Iowa began clawing its way back after the 12-minute mark when the Flyers held a 65-53 advantage.

'Our offense didn't move the ball smoothly at all in the first half and we actually felt lucky to only be down by six at half,' said Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, who was unable to secure his 100th win with the Hawkeyes. 'We had some quirky things happen there at the beginning of the second half and we found ourselves in a deep hole. We just needed to create better looks and we started to do so.'

A 3-pointer by Brady Ellingson was followed up by another made shot beyond the arc by Uthoff. Dayton built its lead back up to double digits before the Hawkeyes exploded for a 16-2 run to claim their first lead since midway through the first half.

'We just talked about staying patient, taking care of the basketball, moving the ball on offense, not rushing things,' McCaffery said. 'It was key for us to get back in the game.'

Oddly enough, the Hawkeyes made the aggressive run with Uthoff and Jok on the bench for close to five minutes.

'They were just gassed,' McCaffery said. 'They needed a break and the guys who came in for them really demonstrated themselves.'

One of those players was Mike Gesell, whose seven points for the game came during the run on a jumper from the wing, two free throws and a contested 3-pointer.

'We got a little sideways there at the beginning of the second half and we just needed to stay focused as a group,' said Gesell, who added three assists.

Gesell's deep three put Iowa ahead 75-71 but the Flyers stormed back when Charles Cooke (22 points) drained a three from the corner and Scoochie Smith (11 points, 7 assists) drove to the basket to score for a 76-75 Dayton lead.

Adam Woodbury then hit two free throws to put Iowa back on top before Cooke's two free throws gave the Flyers the lead for good. The Hawkeyes had some looks in the last minute but could not convert and Smith's floater in traffic followed by Cooke's two free throws sealed the win for Dayton.

Iowa will face No. 17 Notre Dame at 6 p.m. in the next round after the Irish lost to Monmouth in their opening-round game.