Pepperdine Gives Iowa No Trouble

Pepperdine took a very different route to tonight’s consolation game of the Hawkeye Invitational tournament than its opponent, UC Irvine. The Anteaters held a lead with one second left in regulation before losing to Ohio University in overtime. The Waves, however, could have started planning their strategy against Irvine during the first half of Friday night’s 99-63 loss to Iowa in front of 13,045 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa played almost the entire second half with second-stringers and still continued to add to its 17-point halftime lead. The Hawkeyes (3-0) stretched their advantage to 42 (91-49) with 6 1/2 minutes remaining.

Four Hawkeye reserves played more minutes than three of the starters.

“That’s a good old-fashioned you-know-what right there,” Pepperdine Coach Tony Fuller said. “It was every coach’s nightmare. But Coach (Tom) Davis called off the dogs early and that’s a sign of real class. That could have been real, real ugly because they pretty much were able to do anything they wanted.”

Pepperdine (1-2) opened up a 10-3 early lead, but the Hawkeyes took an 11-10 edge and didn’t trail again. Iowa had four players score in double figures, led by forward Jess Settles, who was eight of 13 from the floor and finished with 20 points.

The Hawkeyes dominated with a combination of efficient, selfless offense and determined defense. Pepperdine had two players--Clark James with 13 points and LeRoi O’Brien with 12--score in double figures. And the Waves shot 29% from the floor in the second half.