IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa's Luke Recker says friendships are
great, but wins are better. Especially when they come over former
teammates.
"It was a very special win for me," said Recker, who scored 27
points and keyed a second-half spurt that rallied Iowa (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 21 AP) to a
71-66 win Saturday over Indiana.
|  | | Luke Recker, left, scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half to spark Iowa's comeback win. |
Recker, who played at Indiana his first two seasons before
transferring to Arizona in 1999, and then moving to Iowa a year
ago, scored 17 points in the second half as Iowa (16-4, 5-2 Big
Ten) came back after trailing by as many as 19.
"I took a lot of heat and criticism when I left Indiana. That
hurt. If we would have lost this one, I don't feel I would have
been able to show my face in Indiana," he said.
Iowa coach Steve Alford, who played on Indiana's 1987 NCAA
championship team, said Recker was a little too nervous early on.
"Luke is a competitive kid. I thought he was in a hurry in the
first half because he so badly wanted to score," Alford said.
Indiana coach Mike Davis was disappointed his team couldn't keep
its momentum going in the second half but attributed part of that
to Recker.
"He was a good player when he was at Indiana. I think his
3-point shot has really improved. He's probably the best guy in
college basketball at moving off screens," Davis said.
Reserve Ryan Hogan added 11 points for the Hawkeyes, who won
their second straight game.
Jared Jeffries and Kirk Haston each scored 12 points, and Tom
Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby had 11 apiece for Indiana (12-9, 3-4),
which is 0-4 on the road in the conference this year.
Recker, playing with a heavily bandaged right knee, sparked Iowa
by repeatedly beating defender Dane Fife, his close friend and
roommate at Indiana.
"Luke's a good player. Actually, he's a great player. He's a
scorer," Fife said. "They ran some plays for him, especially in
the second half. He can fill it anywhere."
Recker scored on a driving layup around Fife to open the second
half, then -- after Reggie Evans' two free throws -- Recker drained
consecutive 3-pointers, the second one from the top of the key as
he was knocked to the floor.
No foul was called, but it woke up the Carver-Hawkeye Arena
crowd of 15,500, and was part of a 20-5 spurt that narrowed the
Hoosiers' 43-26 halftime lead to 48-46 with 15:10 remaining.
Glen Worley's put-back at the 12:49 mark gave the Hawkeyes their
first lead, 50-49, and his driving layup 36 seconds later made it
52-49.
A 3-pointer from the right corner by Hornsby tied the game
52-all, but Recker's basket capped a 9-2 run that gave Iowa a 61-54
lead with 8:06 left.
The Hoosiers cut into the lead and trailed 69-66, but Coverdale,
a 64 percent free-throw shooter, missed two foul shots with 23
seconds to play and Recker converted two from the line to seal the
victory.
Recker finished the game 9-for-19 on field goals, including
5-for-9 on 3-pointers.
The Hawkeyes started poorly for the second straight home game.
In a 70-69 loss to Michigan a week ago, Iowa trailed 10-0 and took
more than 7 minutes to score its first field goal -- one of just six
Hoosiers baskets in the first 20 minutes.
Against the Hoosiers, Iowa fell behind 12-1 and didn't get its
first basket until Recker's leaning bank shot more than 5 minutes
into the game. The Hawkeyes had only eight baskets in the first
half in shooting 36.4 percent compared to 47.4 percent for the
Hoosiers.
Indiana took its largest lead, 32-13, on Coverdale's two free
throws. Worley answered with a basket that ignited a 13-3 run,
capped by Recker's 3-pointer that pulled the Hawkeyes to 35-26 with
2:30 left in the half.
Jeffries' basket then ignited an 8-0 run by the Hoosiers as they
took a 17-point lead into halftime.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Indiana Clubhouse
Iowa Clubhouse
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