KJ’s Basketball Newsletter
November 22, 2000
IOWA 73, DRAKE 71
Man, what a game! The
arena was absolutely packed, a record crowd of 7,100+ in Knapp Center.
Hawkeye supporters came in droves and virtually balanced the Bulldog
supporters. Yellow here, Blue there, black, white, etc.
As a fan, you have to love the place….particularly when you get a crowd
of that size.
Drake
came out strong and, coupled with some good breaks, soon built an 8-point lead
that they maintained for most of the first half. The Bulldogs were carried by their post man, Greg Danielson,
who finished with 24 points and 5 rebounds. Aaron Thomas finished with 13,
making 3 of 4 three pointers. I was
impressed with reserve Dontaie Smith, who added 8 points in 30 minutes.
Iowa’s
hero throughout the game was Luke Recker, who finished with 26 points.
I was struck by the fact that, aside from his super-smooth stroke, a lot
of his success in shooting is largely due to the fact that he jumps really high!
Reserve Glen Worley was very impressive, scoring 11 points and grabbing 6
rebounds.
Late
in the game Iowa finally fought back to gain a six point lead, 68-62. At that
stage I’m sure most people felt that Iowa was finally making it’s run and
with their strength advantage would finish off the Dawgs. However, Drake came back to take a 71-70 lead on a Danielson
free throw. However, Recker made a
beautiful jumper to put Iowa back on top. At 2.3 left, Drake lost the ball, and
fouled Oliver, who made one free throw. As
time ran out, Aaron Thomas just
barely missed from back of halfcourt.
I
like both these teams a lot and hated to see either one lose.
Drake doesn’t have anything to be ashamed of, as they showed better
against strong competition than anyone predicted.
They shot well (45% from the field and 83% from the line) and didn’t
make many mistakes against an Iowa team that is bigger, stronger and probably
more talented. Although ending one short on the score, I believe Drake
actually outplayed the visiting Hawkeyes, but suffered under some questionable
calls.
I
don’t think Iowa looked bad, they just didn’t seem to be very inspired, in
spite of the fact that Alford played his smaller lineup much of the way.
The Hawks have a lot of talent; Evans is really a horse at both ends of
the court, Recker is a sure scorer, Oliver is intelligent and deft; and Duez is
finally playing smart. I was
surprised that Iowa’s big men, Reiner and Sonderleiter didn’t play much,
leaving the center to Reggie Evans. While
Evans certainly held his own in the post, he looked more effective when facing
the basket.
In
the end, talent won over hustle, but just barely. Had Thomas’ long shot at the buzzer been slightly to the
left, the Bulldogs would have finally gotten the monkey off their back.
It was that close, and that exciting, and that enjoyable.