Iowa beats North Dakota — but with a bizarre ending

IOWA CITY — Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said going into the Hawkeyes' second to last non-conference game he wanted to see his team continue to show the improvement they'd shown in wins against Iowa State and Northern Iowa.

Defense and ball control had taken a step forward collectively, and the idea in the final week before Big Ten Conference play begins was to make sure that, at the very least, didn't take a step backward.

And while Iowa might not have wholly regressed in an 84-73 win against North Dakota on Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, some of the demons that haunted the Hawkeyes before finding their groove against their in-state rivals returned — as much, McCaffery said, because of what the Fighting Hawks did as the Hawkeyes.

Iowa had to deal with physical play from North Dakota in what turned out to be a chippy game throughout — a game that ended with Iowa walking off the floor without shaking hands.

'We had some breakdowns, but sometimes you have breakdowns because the team you're playing is executing well and that's why you're breaking down,' McCaffery said. 'So I do think that the way they challenged us will help us, because they're big and strong, and it was a physical game like we're going to see in the Big Ten, so it's good that you play games like that this time of year.

'I wasn't pleased with how the game ended and the things that happened.'

The end of the game, and its lack of a handshake line, stole much of the attention from the rest of the game.

Freshman point guard Jordan Bohannon, who had 18 points and three assists, was called for a dead ball technical foul with around 0:37 to go, then at the buzzer, North Dakota's Corey Baldwin tried to steal the ball from forward Nicholas Baer and score as the Hawkeyes tried to run out the last 0:03 to seal the win.

The ensuing moments saw McCaffery turn from the handshake line as North Dakota players and Coach Brian Jones — a former Iowa assistant under Steve Alford — were lining up. Iowa players followed McCaffery off the court without shaking hands. Jones and assistant coach — and former Iowa player Jeff Horner had words with Iowa players and Iowa assistant coach Kirk Speraw before leaving the floor themselves.

Neither Jones nor McCaffery were happy with how the game ended.

'I think he was upset with one of our players trying to steal the ball with three seconds left,' Jones said. 'We're going to handle that situation. The kid is a competitive kid. We'll handle that. I think (McCaffery) was frustrated by that, that's all. I can't answer for what's going on with him.

'I worked here for eight years. That's why I was frustrated. … I get the heat of it. It's just the heat of the moment. Coach is a high character guy, I'm not blaming that. There were some things down the stretch both teams could've cleaned up.'

North Dakota, down 11, tried to beat the buzzer. December 21, 2016

North Dakota, down 11, tried to beat the buzzer. https://t.co/PLkItzgxq0

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork)

Fran McCaffery wasn't a fan, so he had Iowa walk off the court.

McCaffery's view was one of protecting his players.

Hard fouls on Peter Jok, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, the technical against Bohannon and the play at the end were what McCaffery said got him the most upset.

McCaffery said it's not the first time he's skipped a handshake line, either.

'I will say this: I have a lot of respect for Brian and certainly Jeff Horner. I don't think they teach that kind of stuff, but I was not having it. That's not the way to play,' McCaffery said. 'The game's over. We don't need Pete getting knocked to the floor. We don't need guys getting up in Jordan's face. We don't need Nicholas Baer's head getting chopped off. We don't need it. We won.

'The last time I did this, that's exactly what it was. I took my whole team in the locker room. I didn't do that this time. I was disappointed in what happened. Like I said, I'm sure that Brian does not teach that. The kid — when it happens three times, that's disappointing.'

As for the game itself, after Jok and Bohannon's 18 points, Brady Ellingson had 10, Isaiah Moss and Cordell Pemsl had nine and Baer and Ahmad Wagner had eight apiece.

Pemsl also added 11 rebounds — but off the bench Tuesday night. Pemsl, who had started five straight games coming in, was late to a team shootaround and lost his starting spot for the night. McCaffery said Pemsl responded well to the move — and the freshman agreed.

'Obviously I was in the wrong for being late to shootaround, but I tried not to let it get to me,' Pemsl said. 'I'll learn from the mistake and won't do it again. I accepted the consequence and knew I couldn't let it get to me, and went out and played as hard as I could. I did what I needed to do to help the team win.'

The physical nature of the game was reflected in the end, yes, but in plenty of ways before that.

While Jok struggled shooting — he shot just 4 of 15 from the field — the Hawkeyes got help from him at the free throw line. Jok was 10 of 10 and helped seal the game in the second half. McCaffery said part of that was the way North Dakota was playing Jok and the Hawkeyes collectively. The Fighting Hawks' defensive style was a physical one, and played a role in Jok's shooting line.

'It was the way they wanted to play the game. They wanted to get Pete to shoot 4 for 15,' McCaffery said. 'I mean, they were on him. That's why he got 10 free throws. It's also why he missed 11 shots. So, you weigh it from their side. You say, OK, if we can hold Pete to 4 for 15, we'll probably win the game. Well, we shot 34 free throws because it was that physical.'

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