Iowa (3-1), who never led in the game, played tough and ran with the Seminoles early on in the first half, would draw even with Florida State on a lay up by junior center Jared Reiner with 12:45 left in the first half. However that would be the closest the Hawkeyes would get. Florida State would use a 14-4 run over the next five and a half minutes to take a 27-17 lead and open the game up.
Iowa answered the Seminoles run with an 11-4 run of their own, capped off by a lay up by freshman combo forward Greg Brunner, closing Florida State’s lead to just three at 31-28 with 3:25 remaining in the first half. However, the Seminoles once again would go on a run, and took a 39-31 lead into the locker room when freshman guard Todd Galloway drilled a three with :10 seconds remaining.
Bench points were a major difference maker in the first half, as Florida State had 22 bench points to Iowa’s zero. The Seminoles also made the Hawkeyes pay for their 14 turnovers in the first half, as they scored 15 points off of those turnovers.
Florida State continued their intensity on the defensive end, and began to heat up on offense as well. The Seminoles were able to increase their lead to double digits early on in the second half.
Iowa continued to scrap and battle, as senior combo guard Chauncey Leslie stole a pass with 1:20 remaining, made the lay up and was fouled. Leslie was successful on the free throw attempt drawing Iowa to within nine points at 73-64. However that was as close as the Hawkeyes would get, and Florida State came away victorious with a hard fought 80-67 win.
The two areas that plagued the Hawkeyes in the first half, continued to give them fits in the second half, as the Hawkeyes continued to turnover the ball in the second half, and Florida State once again made them pay. The Seminoles finished the game with 28 points off of turnovers, and their bench outscored Iowa’s 28-10.
Brunner, who definitely had his best game as a Hawkeye, finished with a career high 18 points on 8-11 shooting, and grabbed 8 rebounds. Three other Hawkeyes finished in double figures as Leslie finished with 17 points, Horner 12 points, and 5-11 junior guard Brody Boyd finished with 10 points. Reiner continued to dominate the boards, as he finished with a game high 10 rebounds, to go along with his six points. Iowa controlled the boards, as they out rebounded Florida State 36-25, however costly turnovers and lack of bench scoring doomed the Hawkeyes.
Florida State finished the game shooting 31-62 (50%) from two point land, and 9-26 (34.6%) from beyond the arc. Junior guard Michael Joiner finished with 19 points to lead the Seminoles.
Iowa will be action this weekend, as they host the Gazette Hawkeye Challenge. The Hawkeyes will take on Montana State Friday night 30 minutes following the Southern Mississippi-Jacksonville game.