Once again, Iowa falls flat in tough loss

IOWA CITY - The points may change for Iowa, but the outcome remains the same.

Iowa senior Jarryd Cole's head hit his hands Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena almost the same way he knelt over in disgust two nights ago in Evanston, Ill. Saturday, Iowa lost its fourth straight game and its third by three points in a 75-72 defeat to Michigan. It was Iowa's second overtime loss in that four-game span, and it hit Cole hard after the game.

“It just hurts man,” Cole said. “It's a lot tougher losing these type of games than it is to lose games when you get blown out. You look at these and you look at what you could have done the last seconds of the game, the last minute, two minutes, and you wonder what you could have changed to make the outcome a point or two different. It's hard. It's hard to swallow that kind of outcome.”

Iowa (10-17, 3-12 Big Ten) had multiple chances to take control of the game, from a negated half-court shot at the halftime buzzer to a missed jumper at the end of regulation. The Hawkeyes even had an opportunity to tie the game at the end of overtime, but missed two shots to provide the game's final outcome.

The Hawkeyes led by eight points approaching halftime when Iowa junior Matt Gatens stole the inbounds pass and tossed it to guard Bryce Cartwright, who was behind midcourt. Cartwright launched the 55-foot shot at the buzzer, and it rattled in for a 3-pointer. The game officials reviewed the basket and lead official Ed Hightower ruled the ball was at Cartwright's fingertips when time expired. Both teams had left the court before Hightower's review.

“I heard (the crowd reaction) in the locker room, so I had a hint that it didn't (count) but I thought it was (in),” Cartwright said. “It must have been conclusive because the dude (another official) ruled it a 3.”

Inside the final minute, Cartwright missed a jumper but Melsahn Basabe scored on a putback to give Iowa a 65-63 lead. Michigan freshman Tim Hardaway, who scored a game-high 30 points, missed a jumper, but teammate Jordan Morgan scooped the rebound and was fouled by Cartwright with 12.2 seconds left. Morgan, who sinks just 52.7 percent of his free-throw attempts, hit both attempts to tie the score at 65-65.

Cartwright brought the ball up, rolled to the side and missed a tough layup off the glass. Basabe tipped the ball in the air but Morgan came down with it to force overtime.

In overtime Michigan led by three points with 15 seconds left. Iowa worked the ball inside to Cole, but couldn't get a good shot off, so Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery called timeout with 6 seconds remaining. After the inbounds pass, Zach McCabe had a good look at a 3-pointer but missed. Cartwright got the rebound, dribbled to the 3-point line but missed it as time expired.

“I actually thought it was going in,” Cartwright said. “It hit the front of the rim. It was a scramble play for whoever got open and (I) took the opportunity. I was right there, so I tried to get another shot up for our team.”

“(Zach) couldn't have been more open,” McCaffery said. “So I feel bad for him. He wanted to make it. He's a great kid. He wanted to make it. He was open. He is a good shooter. We went in, got a rebound and another shot.

“You give the kids credit for fighting all the way to the end.”

Photos by Brian Ray

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