IOWA CITY, IOWA – Ron Harper Jr. shot 10-of-14 to score a career-high 29 points, but it was not enough, as No. 24/25 Rutgers (14-5, 5-3) dropped a hard-fought 85-80 decision to No. 19/19 Iowa (14-5, 5-3) Wednesday evening at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
"He felt good today, he wanted the ball," said Rutgers head coach
Steve Pikiell about Harper Jr. post-game. "He was calling his number too a few times. He has games like that, practices like that. He's a three-way scorer, he can score in the post, he can handle it, he can shoot threes. He had a really good night."
The Hawkeyes were 17-of-21 at the free throw line in the second half to hold off the Scarlet Knights, who overcame a 10-point second half deficit to take a late lead.
"It was a great college basketball game," said Pikiell. "I thought we never gave up. We were down 10 points and we kept fighting and had our chances too. We had a couple in-and-outs, a big block out that we don't get, but congratulations to Iowa."
Harper, who also grabbed a team-best nine rebounds, was joined in double figures by
Akwasi Yeboah. The graduate transfer deposited 6-of-11 field goal attempts to register 17 points.
Myles Johnson added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Rutgers committed nine turnovers, its second straight game with single-digit miscues, to establish a 26-12 advantage in points-off-turnovers. The Scarlet Knights were out-rebounded for just the fourth time this season, however, with Iowa benefiting 38-30 on the glass.
"Rebounds were a huge, not winning the battle of the boards tonight was key," said Pikiell. "They are a good rebounding team. They have good size. To their credit, they took care of business on the back boards."
Rutgers jumped-out to a 5-0 lead in a back-and-forth game that featured 12 ties and seven lead changes. The Scarlet Knights entered the locker room at the midpoint with a 43-38 advantage.
RU led by eight early in the second half, but the Hawkeyes were propelled by their home environment after the break. An 8-2 run provided the home squad a 69-59 advantage with 10 minutes remaining.
Rutgers refused to quit in hostile territory and used a 7-0 burst to re-gain the lead, 77-76 with 2:25 on the clock. The rims were unkind to the visitors in the final minutes, however, as UI made clutch free throws to secure the five-point win.
"Credit them," said Pikiell. "They won the game. Some shots just didn't go in. Some timely free throws. We had some really-good looks at the end. I liked Akwasi's look. The ball has to go in, and that's a credit to Iowa's defense."
Rutgers returns to action Saturday afternoon versus Nebraska at a sold-out RAC. The contest will tip-off at 2 p.m. (ET) on BTN with Lisa Byington and Shon Morris on the call. The Scarlet Knights are 13-0 at the RAC, their best on-campus start in program history.
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POSTGAME NOTES
- Rutgers' 80 points and 17 assists were its most in Big Ten play this season.
- For the second straight season, Harper notched his career-high in scoring at Carver-Hawkeye Arena with 29 points. He has averaged 23.7 points in three career games versus the Hawkeyes.
- Harper scored in double-figures for the 12th time this season and 22nd time in his career. He scored 20 or more points for the third time this season and fourth time in his career.
- Akwasi Yeboah (17 points) tied his season-high scoring mark. He scored in double-figures for the ninth time this season and 79th time in his career.
- Caleb McConnell tied his career-high with five assists.
- Myles Johnson tied his career-high with three steals.
- Geo Baker had two assists to move him into a tie with Mark Conlin for 20th place all-time at Rutgers.
