Hawkeyes Edge Grizzlies

From ougrizzlies.com

Junior Johnathon Jones had a chance to tie the game with 2:34 remaining, but his jump shot from the top of the key rolled off the rim and Iowa's Anthony Tucker buried three of his 19 points immediately following that to lead the Hawkeyes (4-0) past Oakland University (1-3), 66-57, in men's basketball action on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Jones ended with a game-high 21 points, followed by senior Erik Kangas' 18-point effort.

"I'm very, very disappointed in how the game ended," said OU coach Greg Kampe. "We had the game exactly where we wanted it. Jones made a horrible decision when we had the ball with a chance to take the lead. We ran a set, and he refused the set and turned it down with a 6-6 guy on him and took a jump shot, when he should have taken that ball to the basket and let the referee make a decision, or maybe he makes it. He's great going to the hole and he settles for a jump shot.

"Then we come down and they are about to get a shot clock violation and they throw up some bomb, and (Anthony Tucker) gets an offensive rebound and we foul him. That was a huge play, because now they take it out and get another shot and make a three. We get that rebound, I call timeout, and we run something inside, and hopefully we make a basket. The game went from one point to nine, there was nothing we could do."

OU trailed the entire game and had several chances to take the lead halfway through the second half. Down by one on two occasions, 3-pointers by Kangas went in and out of the basket which would have given the Golden Grizzlies a two-point lead. Oakland shot just 54.5 percent from the free throw line (6-11), compared to Iowa's 66.7 percent (12-18).

The Grizzlies had only seven points from their front court line of sophomore Will Hudson (6), redshirt sophomore Keith Benson (1), freshman Ilija Milutinovic (0) and senior Dan Waterstradt (0). The Hawkeyes scored 24 points in the paint, thanks to 19 points from their big men underneath.

The Hawkeyes had three players in double figures along with Tucker, Jake Kelly had 16 points off the bench and Cyrus Tate scored 11 points. Iowa's bench outscored the Grizzlies 16-5 in the game.

Oakland will continue its long road trip this Tuesday night in Manhattan, Kan., as the Golden Grizzlies face the undefeated Kansas State Wildcats (4-0). Tip is slated for 8:08 p.m. ET and will be regionally televised on FSN Kansas City. The game will also air on OU's flagship station WDTW (1310 AM) with Mario Impemba.