The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Hawks stun Badgers with late 3-pointer

Iowa+celebrates+s+59-57+win+over+Wisconsin+in+an+NCAA+college+basketball+game+Thursday%2C+March+2%2C+2017%2C+in+Madison%2C+Wis.+%28AP+Photo%2FAndy+Manis%29
AP
Iowa celebrates s 59-57 win over Wisconsin in an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, March 2, 2017, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

By Blake Dowson

[email protected]

Wisconsin fans, in the past, would have exploded if a Bohannon had hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with fewer than 10 seconds to go in a Big Ten game in March.

The only problem is that the youngest Bohannon, that being Jordan, chose to attend Iowa instead of the school three hours to the northeast in Madison, Wisconsin, where two of his older brothers played basketball for the Badgers.

Zach Bohannon, one of those brothers that played at Wisconsin, was behind the Iowa bench to watch his youngest brother knock down a shot that will more than likely knock his alma mater out of the top 25, winning it for the Hawkeyes, 59-57.

“I can’t tell you how many times I have been here,” Jordan Bohannon said. “…So this game meant more to me. I tried to keep my compsoure the entire game, and I was fortunate to make that shot.”

The Hawkeyes took a 32-25 lead into halftime, thanks to a questionable no-call at the end of the half.

With around five seconds left in the half and the shot clock nearing zero, Bohannon found Nicholas Baer (and possibly dragged his foot in the process) for a corner 3, sending Iowa jogging into the locker room with its biggest lead of the game.

The second half got off to a decidedly slower start for Iowa, and a scoring drought of almost five minutes allowed the Badgers to tie the game at 45 with 8:48 remaining.

Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ scored on a baseline spin to give the Badgers their first lead of the second half at 47-45, and Jordan Hill stole an Isaiah Moss pass seconds later and dunked to extend the lead to 49-45. The Hawkeyes didn’t regain the lead until Bohannon’s jumper with nine seconds left.

“We just have to finish halves,” Wisconsin’s Zak Showalter said. “That’s our biggest problem. We came out pretty strong in our plus-minus … but for some reason, we’re just not finishing.”

Wisconsin didn’t respond well to the Hawkeye pressure in the full court, and a couple turnovers reduced the Badger lead from 5 to 1 in a matter of about 80 seconds.

“The pressure was impressive from a lot of standpoints,” Fran McCaffery said. “Everybody has to be connected and they were. That’s why [Wisconsin] had to take two time-outs and had two turnovers. We got it to a one possession game, and we didn’t panic …We kept coming.”

Bohannon missed a 3-pointer with 33 seconds to go that would have given Iowa the 59-57 advantage it eventually won by, but Happ rebounded the miss and was immediately fouled.

Happ, a 50 percent free-throw shooter on the season, missed both and gave the Hawkeyes another chance.

Peter Jok missed a 10-foot jumper in the lane with 15 seconds left, but Cordell Pemsl grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Bohannon for the game-winner.

Baer led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 14 points, a career high for him. Baer was 4-of-5 from the 3-point line, including the late corner 3 at the end of the first half and another that he banked from the top of the key with the shot clock at one.

Pemsl saw the ball go in every time he shot it, going 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line for 10 points.

Bohannon joined those two in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

“This is a big win for our team and our program,” Jok said.

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