Pierce’s Shot Lifts Iowa to an Upset

Pierre Pierce wasn’t around to celebrate with his teammates.

The junior guard made a 25-foot jumper with 44 seconds left to give Iowa the lead for good, and the Hawkeyes beat No. 15 Texas, 82-80, on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii.

On the last play of the game, when Texas’ P.J. Tucker missed a chance to tie it, Pierce stepped on another player’s foot and hurt his left ankle. He was on the floor in pain while his teammates celebrated, then they ran to him to help.

Pierce, who finished with 18 points and seven assists, left the Lahaina Civic Center on crutches and was taken for X-rays.

“He made big play after big play in the second half,” Iowa Coach Steve Alford said.

Iowa (3-0) will face North Carolina in the championship game today. The No. 11 Tar Heels beat Tennessee, 94-81.

No. 2 Kansas 91, St. Joseph’s 51 -- Wayne Simien had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and the Wildcats (2-0) shot 63% from the field against the Hawks (0-1) at Lawrence, Kan. It was the first regular-season loss for St. Joseph’s since 2002.

No. 6 Oklahoma State 90, Arkansas Little Rock 65 -- John Lucas III scored 22 points, including three consecutive three-point baskets to spark an 11-2 run early in the second half, to lead the Cowboys (2-0) at Stillwater, Okla.

No. 8 Kentucky 73, Ball State 53 -- Patrick Sparks scored 20 points, and the Wildcats (2-0) took the lead for good with a 12-2 second-half run at Cincinnati.

No. 10 Michigan State 104, Wisconsin Green Bay 46 -- Alan Anderson led a balanced offense with 18 points at East Lansing, Mich., and the Spartans (2-0) reached 100 points in consecutive games for the first time since February 1964.

No. 11 North Carolina 94, Tennessee 81 -- Rashad McCants scored 27 points, and the Tar Heels (2-1) shot 65.4% from the field in the first half to defeat the Volunteers in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational.

No. 12 Louisville 93, Chaminade 63 -- Taquan Dean scored 21 points, and the Cardinals (2-1) bounced back from an opening-round loss to win in the consolation bracket of the Maui Invitational.

No. 13 Maryland 93, Mercer 67 -- Nik Caner-Medley scored 21 points, and the Terrapins (2-0) had four others in double figures at College Park, Md.

No. 14 Mississippi State 82, Missouri Kansas City 64 -- Winsome Frazier scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Bulldogs (5-1), who shot 52% from the field, at Starkville, Miss.

No. 21 Notre Dame 73, Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne 45 -- Chris Quinn scored 15 points, and Dennis Latimore had career highs of 12 points and 11 rebounds to spark the Irish (2-0) at South Bend, Ind.

No. 23 Florida 90, Florida Atlantic 45 -- Freshman point guard Taurean Green sparked the Gators (2-0) with eight points and five assists at Gainesville, Fla., in a victory over the team coached by his father, former NBA forward Sidney Green.

No. 25 Memphis 79, Arkansas State 75 -- Sean Banks scored 28 of his career-high 31 points in the second half to lead the Tigers (4-1) at Memphis, Tenn.

Arizona State 67, Delaware State 56 -- Ike Diogu had 32 points and nine rebounds to lift the Sun Devils (2-0) at Tempe, Ariz. Diogu tied his school record by making 18 free throws.

California 82, Southern 63 -- Richard Midgley scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Golden Bears (2-1) at Berkeley. Cal lost starting point guard Ayinde Ubaka to a first-half foot injury.

Stanford 62, Brigham Young 53 -- Dan Grunfeld scored 20 points, including eight in an 11-0 run to open the second half, to lead the Cardinal (2-1) in the consolation bracket of the Maui Invitational.

WOMEN

In selected top 25 games: Shanna Zolman scored 14 points, and freshman Alexis Hornbuckle had 11 to lead top-ranked Tennessee (3-0) to a 71-41 victory over George Washington (2-1) at Knoxville, Tenn.... Freshman Sylvia Fowles had 17 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 2 Louisiana State (5-0) to a 65-51 victory over Temple (1-1) at Philadelphia.... No. 5 North Carolina (3-0) used a 29-1 run in an 88-33 rout of Charleston Southern (0-2) at Chapel Hill, N.C.