Jan. 7, 2006

Box Score

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Jeff Horner scored 16 points to help Iowa beat Illinois 63-48 on Saturday, snapping the Illini's 15 game winning streak.

In a physical battle between two of the Big Ten's best defensive teams, Iowa held Illinois to 34.6 percent shooting and became the first team to keep the Illini under 50 points since Michigan State did it Feb. 11, 1999.

The Hawkeyes (12-4, 1-1 Big Ten) also shut down Illinois' flashy point guard Dee Brown, who scored six points on 2-of-13 shooting - one game after he scored a career-high 34 in a victory over No. 7 Michigan State.

Adam Haluska added 15 points for Iowa, which rebounded after a miserable shooting performance in a Big Ten opening loss to Wisconsin on Thursday. Iowa shot 17 percent in the second half against the Badgers, the worst second-half performance in Steve Alford's seven years as head coach.

The win also helped Iowa snap a four-game losing streak against Illinois (15-1, 1-1), and fans savored the moment by rushing the court to celebrate with the team after time expired.

James Augustine led Illinois with 14 points and nine rebounds, but was in foul trouble for much of the game.

The Illini, which had won 54 of its last 55 regular-season games, committed 16 turnovers, trailed the entire second half and shot 19 percent from 3-point range.

Iowa's defense flustered the Illini all game, keeping their fast break in check and forcing one hurried shot after another.

On offense, the Hawkeyes did just enough.

Iowa shot 35 percent and made 3-of-11 3-pointers. The difference was at the free-throw line, where the Hawkeyes went 24-of-32, compared to 7-of-15 for Illinois.

The Hawkeyes led 23-19 at the half then extended it to nine when Haluska nailed a 3-pointer 3:27 into the second half. Iowa opened the second half with a 9-4 run, then grabbed its first double-digit lead when Haluska swished a 3-pointer to put Iowa up 38-28.

The Illini cut it to six 3 minutes later when Chester Frazier scored on a one-hander in the paint and Jamar Smith's 3-pointer on the next possession brought Illinois to 41-38. But the Illini would get no closer.

Haluska sank a pair of free throws on its next possession, triggering a 14-5 run over the next 7 minutes.

Horner sank all six of his free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

Brown's struggles started early. His only point in the first half came when he sank the second of two free throws at 8:05. He missed all six of his shot attempts, including a pair of fast-break layups and with just one assist struggled to create scoring chances against Iowa's aggressive man-to-man defense.