A week off certainly seemed to cause some rust for No. 24 Iowa on Saturday, but it wasn't enough to result in a loss.
Junior forward Tyler Cook had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes to a 72-67 win over visiting Bryant on Saturday.
The score was tied at 66-66 with 3:12 remaining before Iowa took a 68-66 lead with 2:26 left on a basket by Cook.
The score remained that way until the final minute, when Cook hit a free throw with 49 seconds remaining to give Iowa a 69-66 lead.
The Bulldogs had a chance to tie the score, but junior guard Adam Grant missed a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left.
Iowa got the rebound, and after a Bryant foul, Iowa junior guard Jordan Bohannon made two free throws to give Iowa a 71-66 lead.
Bryant closed within 71-67 with 11 seconds left on a free throw by junior guard Tanner Johnson, but a free throw by senior forward Nicholas Baer with 10 seconds remaining rounded out the scoring.
Bohannon scored 17 points and Baer added 12 points for Iowa.
Grant scored 23 points, Johnson had 16 points and freshman guard Joe Kasperzyk added 13 points for Bryant.
Bryan hung tough with Iowa for most of the first half, trailing by only four at 27-23 with 6:53 left in the first half.
But a 10-2 run by Iowa helped the Hawkeyes take a 37-25 lead with 3:34 remaining in the first half, and Iowa ultimately took a 43-34 lead into halftime.
Bryant made a move to start the second half, starting on a 10-2 run to cut Iowa's lead to 45-44 with 16:39 remaining in the game.
Iowa answered with a 7-0 run to take a 52-44 lead with 13:40 left, but Bryant didn't go away, cutting the Iowa lead to 53-50 with 12:34 remaining.
--Field Level Media
Bryant | Iowa | |
Adam Grant 23 | Scoring | Tyler Cook 19 |
Patrick Harding 2 | Assists | Tyler Cook 6 |
Byron Hawkins 7 | Rebounds | Tyler Cook 12 |
Byron Hawkins 2 | Free Throws Made | Tyler Cook 9 |
Adam Grant 1 | Steals | Nicholas Baer 2 |
N/A | Blocks | Nicholas Baer 5 |