Nate Bittle’s 21 points, 10 rebounds and key blocked shot led Oregon to a thrilling 80-78 win over Iowa on Wednesday in Iowa City.
In the final seconds, Bittle stepped out on defense and blocked Josh Dix’s 3-point shot, and Iowa’s rebound follow was no good as the clock expired. It capped a last few minutes of game action that ended with the Ducks (19-8, 8-8 Big Ten) registering their third straight win.
Payton Sandfort put up 25 points and Dix added 19 for Iowa (14-12, 5-10), which took its fifth loss in six games.
Oregon appeared to have a five-point lead with 51.5 seconds left after Jackson Shelstad’s long 3-point attempt was originally ruled to have beaten the shot clock. However, the call of made basket was overturned.
Iowa took possession, and Sandfort’s open layup rolled out. Oregon got the rebound, and after some fouls, Shelstad made two free throws with 21.9 seconds to play for an 80-76 Ducks lead.
The Hawkeyes’ Even Brauns cut to the basket for a layup with 13.9 seconds left, two of his 11 points in the second half and 15 in the game. Then Shelstad’s right foot slid out of bounds to give Iowa a chance to tie or take the lead.
Dix’s layup spun in and out, but the Ducks couldn’t control the rebound. The Hawkeyes got the ball back on another close call, but the Ducks were able to hold on for a key conference win.
Down by eight at halftime, Iowa opened the second half on a 12-4 run before the Ducks called a timeout at the 14:40 mark.
Sandfort’s 3-pointer with 13:26 left gave Iowa just its second lead of the night, 54-53. But Oregon responded with treys from Keeshawn Barthelemy and TJ Bamba for a 59-54 lead.
Oregon went up 67-60, but Iowa tied it at 67 and went ahead 73-71 on a 3-pointer from Pryce Sandfort with 4:02 to play.
The Ducks led by as many as 10 points in the first half, making 18 of 34 shot attempts (52.9 percent) in the first half and dominating inside with a 26-12 scoring advantage in the paint.
Getting the ball inside to Bittle was clearly part of the game plan, as he made 6 of 7 shots for 14 points in the first 20 minutes.
The Hawkeyes trailed just 45-37 at the break thanks to 15 points from Dix and 10 from Payton Sandfort, the two making 10 of 13 shots combined in the first half.
–Field Level Media
