Iowa Makes Quick Work of Navy, Will Face Irvine in Tournament Final

Sixth-ranked Iowa jumped to leads of 16-1, 28-7, and 42-10, en route to a 91-61 rout of Navy in the first round of the Amana-Hawkeye tournament Friday night.

A sellout crowd of 15,500 howled in delight as the Hawkeyes humiliated the Midshipmen in the early going with their fullcourt pressure zone defense.

“We played pretty good defense,” Hawkeye Coach Tom Davis said, “but I think their kids got a little rattled when we got them so far down and they were pressing to get back in the game.”

Eleven Iowa players scored, led by Bill Jones (16), B.J. Armstrong (15) and Jeff Moe (15). Center Darren Morningstar led Navy with 20 points.

Iowa meets UC Irvine in the championship game tonight at 6:05 PST. Iowa beat UCI, 105-103, last December in the championship of the Anteater tournament at Long Beach Arena.

“I think the Hawkeye fans thought that was one of the best, most entertaining games of the year,” Davis said. “I hope we have another one just like it.”