INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Jeff Horner scored 14 of his 16 points
in the second half and added 10 assists as No. 20 Iowa beat No. 7
Ohio State 67-60 Sunday in the Big Ten tournament championship game.
Adam Haluska added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Hawkeyes
(25-8), who won their first conference tournament since 2001.
Jamar Butler had 19 points and J.J. Sullinger added 15 for the
top-seeded Buckeyes (25-5), who fell short in their quest to win
both the regular season and tournament titles.
Iowa extended its winning streak to five games and ended Ohio
State's winning streak at seven.
Ohio State's Terence Dials, the conference player of the year,
had 10 points and nine rebounds despite playing only 22 minutes
because of foul trouble.
Dials went out with his fourth foul with 5:24 left and Ohio State
leading 57-55. The Buckeyes led the entire second half until Greg
Brunner scored after rebounding two of his misses to tie the game at
57. The Hawkeyes took the lead on a layup by Horner, then Alex
Thompson hit a 3-pointer with 2:56 left to give Iowa a 62-57 lead.
Horner scored on a short jumper with 2:02 left to give Iowa a
64-57 lead. Ohio State scored only one more basket, a three-point
play by Dials.
Dials picked up his second foul with 12:17 left in the first half
and Ohio State leading 14-12. Two 3-pointers by Je'Kel Foster helped
the Buckeyes extend their lead to 22-15. Iowa responded with a 10-5
run that included seven points by Brunner.
Butler scored six points in a 7-0 run that gave the Buckeyes a
34-25 lead and forced an Iowa timeout. Iowa bounced back with a 6-0
run to cut its deficit to 34-31 with 2:13 left in the half.
Horner, who averaged 20 points in his
first two tournament games, didn't score until he hit a runner
with 4 seconds left in the first half that cut Ohio State's lead
to 37-34.
The Buckeyes made four 3-pointers in the first half, allowing
coach Thad Matta to keep Dials on the bench until the start of the
second half. Dials played only eight minutes in the first half.
Big Ten
Conference Announces All-Tournament Team
March 12, 2006
2006 Big Ten Men's Basketball All-Tournament
Team
Maurice Ager, Michigan State
J.J. Sullinger, Ohio State
Jamar Butler, Ohio State
Greg Brunner, Iowa
Jeff Horner, Iowa
Hawkeyes knock Ohio State from
potential No. 1, win Big Ten title
March 12, 2006 CBS SportsLine.com
wire reports
INDIANAPOLIS --
Iowa's Jeff Horner was tired of coming up short, so he did
something about it.
The Hawkeyes lost in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals last
season, then finished second in the regular season race this
year. On Sunday, Horner finally came out on top. The senior
guard scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and added 10
assists as No. 20 Iowa beat No. 7
Ohio State 67-60 in the Big Ten Tournament championship
game.
Horner didn't score until four seconds remained in the first
half.
"It was tough getting loose," he said. "I got that shot
before the half and we got some momentum going into the locker
room. In the second half, when they needed me to score, I was
there. And other guys did a great job of finishing."
Iowa earned a No. 3 seed in the Atlanta Regional and will
play 14th-seeded Northwestern State on Friday in Auburn Hills,
Mich.
Adam Haluska added 15 points and eight rebounds for the
Hawkeyes (25-8), who won their first conference tournament since
2001. Iowa extended its winning streak to five games and ended
Ohio State's winning streak at seven.
Jamar Butler had 19 points and J.J. Sullinger added 15 for
the top-seeded Buckeyes (25-5), who fell short in their quest to
win both the regular season and tournament titles.
Ohio State earned a No. 2 seed in the Minneapolis Regional
and will play 15th-seeded Davidson in the first round Friday in
Dayton, Ohio.
Ohio State's Terence Dials, the conference player of the
year, had 10 points and nine rebounds despite playing only 22
minutes because of foul trouble.
"I'm the type of player that needs to play 30 (minutes) for
this team to be really successful," he said. "I think our guys
did a pretty good job of playing when I wasn't out there. In the
second half, (Greg) Brunner, (Erek) Hansen, Alex Thompson, those
guys just started to wear on us a little bit."
The fact that Ohio State stayed in the game without him is
one reason Dials believes the Buckeyes are a threat to win the
national title.
"That's the beauty of our team," he said. "Our first seven
guys can score 20 points at any time."
Dials went out with his fourth foul with 5:24 left and Ohio
State leading 57-55. The Buckeyes led the entire second half
until Brunner scored after rebounding two of his misses to tie
the game at 57. The Hawkeyes took the lead on a layup by Horner,
then Thompson hit a 3-pointer with 2:56 left to give Iowa a
62-57 lead.
Horner scored on a short jumper with 2:02 left to give Iowa a
64-57 lead. Ohio State scored only one more basket, a
three-point play by Dials.
Dials picked up his second foul with 12:17 left in the first
half and Ohio State leading 14-12. Two 3-pointers by Je'Kel
Foster helped the Buckeyes extend their lead to 22-15. Iowa
responded with a 10-5 run that included seven points by Brunner.
Butler scored six points in a 7-0 run that gave the Buckeyes
a 34-25 lead and forced an Iowa timeout. Iowa bounced back with
a 6-0 run to cut its deficit to 34-31 with 2:13 left in the
half.
Horner, who averaged 20 points in his first two tournament
games, didn't score until he hit a runner right before the half
that cut Ohio State's lead to 37-34. He was proud that the
Hawkeyes were able to come back.
"It's sort of like we're always the underdog," he said. "But
we just keep doing it."
The Buckeyes made four 3-pointers in the first half, allowing
coach Thad Matta to keep Dials on the bench until the start of
the second half. Dials played only eight minutes in the first
half.
Ohio State won't focus on the loss, or the fact that the
Buckeyes might have lost out on a No. 1 seed.
"We don't take nothing from that, we just keep moving on,"
Ohio State guard Ron Lewis said. "We're going to go out and play
our same game every game and keep going on and playing hard."
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2005-2006, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Senior Iowa guard Jeff
Horner is sensational with 16 points and 10 assists in the
title game. (AP)
