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Iowa State (17-13), winner of five of its last eight games, will battle intrastate rival Iowa (16-13) in the first round of the NIT, Friday March 21 at 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum. The two rivals squared off for the second time in the same season for the first time since 1921.
Iowa 54, Iowa State 53, in Ames
A crowd of 14,020 in Hilton Coliseum saw a game that was anything but pretty, but it sure was intense.
Iowa freshman point guard Jeff Horner sank a 3-pointer to tie the score at 53 with :43 remaining. Then ISU’s Jackson Vroman missed two free throws. Iowa’s Brody Boyd broke the tie by making one of two fouls shots with :21 left. ISU had two airballed the first of two foul shots and bricked the second. And Iowa’s Brody Boyd made one of two free throws for a Hawkeye lead with :21 left. The Cyclones failed on two subsequent chances to score.
Horner leaped into fellow freshman Greg Brunner’s arms after the game. Leslie rolled around on the court like a playful infant. Alford gave Leslie a leaping chest bump in the hallway outside the Hawkeyes’ dressing room.
We hate losing to Iowa in any circumstance, but losing to them AT HOME in MEN’S BASKETBALL in a postseason tournament is more than a little disappointing.