By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — No. 7 Ohio State spent part of its time before its game at No. 8 Iowa stuck in the snow.

A blizzard that shut down several highways in the state hit as the Buckeyes were heading to the arena for a late-morning shootaround, and when the team left to head back to its hotel, the bus couldn’t get up the hill outside of the arena.

“We had to call the plow people to come in and plow for us,” Ohio State guard Duane Washington Jr. said. “It was just kind of a wrench in the road that was going to make us go even harder.”

The Buckeyes found themselves stuck offensively for a stretch in the second half against the Hawkeyes. But they found another gear, rallying from an 11-point deficit to beat Iowa 89-85 on Thursday night.

Washington, E.J. Liddell, and Kyle Young each had 16 points as the Buckeyes (15-4, 9-4 Big Ten) moved into a tie for second place in the Big Ten with Illinois, one game behind Michigan.

The Buckeyes scored 38 points in the final 14:29, but it was that 45-minute wait in the snow that Washington said might have made the difference.

“We talked about who the top 10 shooting guards were in the NBA,” Washington said. “And it was a great conversation. I think we built up that animosity for the game.”

“They had a good time with it,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. “Duane leads the charge there in the back of the bus with those kinds of discussions.

“I think, maybe, this group has a really special way about them. Perhaps in some ways that galvanized us.”

The Buckeyes needed something when Iowa went up 61-50, and they responded with a 17-5 run to take the lead. Ohio State held Iowa to one field goal over the final 4:16.

The Buckeyes held Iowa’s Luka Garza, the nation’s leading scorer at 26.5 points per game, to 16 points. Jack Nunge and Jordan Bohannon each scored 18 points for Iowa (13-5, 7-4).

 

Timme’s late spark lifts No. 1 Gonzaga past Pacific 76-58

MICHAEL WAGAMAN

Associated Press

STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Drew Timme scored a season-high 21 points after a sluggish start and No. 1 Gonzaga overcame a sloppy performance to beat Pacific 76-58 on Thursday night.

The Bulldogs (18-0, 9-0 West Coast Conference) trailed at halftime for only the second time this season and didn’t pull away until midway through the second half, extending the nation’s longest active winning streak to 22 games dating to 2019-20.

WCC leading scorer Corey Kispert had an off night. He was held to two points in the first half and spent much of the second half on the bench in foul trouble, but he scored 11 points in a two-minute burst and finished with 14.

Timme, the second-leading scorer in the conference behind his teammate, had eight points as part of a 15-2 run that gave the Bulldogs breathing room.

Jalen Suggs had 19 points, including an emphatic dunk that made it 70-54, and nine rebounds.
Dannis Jenkins scored 13 points for Pacific (5-5, 2-4).

The Tigers had designs on an upset for much of the night before fading down the stretch, and Pacific’s frustrations boiled over following Kispert’s second straight 3-pointer in the second half. Coach Damon Stoudamire picked up a technical and had to be pulled away from referees.

 

Mann lifts Gardner-Webb over Presbyterian 59-53

BOILING SPRINGS  (AP) — Jamaine Mann recorded 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to lead Gardner-Webb to a 59-53 win over Presbyterian on Thursday night.

Mann made 8 of 10 from the free throw line.

D’Maurian Williams had 10 points for Gardner-Webb (7-11, 6-7 Big South Conference). Jordan Sears added 10 points. Kareem Reid had seven rebounds and four blocks.

The Blue Hose’s 29.3 field goal percentage represented the worst mark by a Gardner-Webb opponent this season.

Presbyterian scored 14 first-half points, a season low for the team, shooting 18.5%.

Rayshon Harrison tied a season high with 20 points and had nine rebounds for the Blue Hose (5-10, 3-8). Winston Hill added 13 points and nine rebounds. Owen McCormack had eight rebounds.

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This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com