MINNEAPOLIS \u2013\u00a0The 19th-ranked University of Iowa men\u2019s basketball team fell to Minnesota, 70-67, on Tuesday night at Williams Arena. The Hawkeyes move to 12-3 on the season and 2-2 in conference play.<\/p>\n
After opening the game 1-of-9 from the field and falling behind, 12-3, Iowa answered by hitting eight of its next 12 shots to take a 20-17 lead, forcing a Minnesota timeout. The Hawkeyes then went cold from the floor, as the Golden Gophers closed the half with a run to take a 31-24 advantage at the break.<\/p>\n
Junior Kael Combs<\/a> led Iowa in the first half with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. The Hawkeyes shot 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) from the field and 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes. Iowa didn\u2019t attempt a free throw in the first half.<\/p>\n After trailing by as many as 12, a 3-pointer from senior Tavion Banks<\/a> cut the Golden Gophers\u2019 lead to five. Minnesota followed by creating the biggest lead of the game, 58-44, with under seven minutes remaining.<\/p>\n Iowa used a 20-5 run to storm back and take its first lead since the seven-minute mark of the first half. Minnesota then rattled off five straight points to take a four-point lead before a 3-pointer from senior\u00a0Bennett Stirtz<\/a> cut the lead to one with 16 seconds remaining. A pair of free throws pushed\u00a0Minnesota\u2019s lead back to three. The Hawkeyes had three potential game-tying 3-point field goals in the final seconds but were unable to get one to fall.<\/p>\n