Late shooting woes doom Gophers in loss at No. 4 Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Peter Jok scored 27 points and Jarrod Uthoff had 24 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots to help fourth-ranked Iowa hold off skidding Minnesota 75-71 on Sunday night.
Iowa rebounded from Thursday's loss at Indiana to regain sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.
Nate Mason had 14 points to lead Minnesota, which has lost 14 straight games.
Uthoff overcame a slow start shooting by recording a big dunk, three blocks and a pair of free throws in the final 1:17 to help secure the victory for the Hawkeyes (20-5, 11-2).
Jok shot 8 of 14 and hit four 3-pointers.
Minnesota (6-19, 0-13) cut Iowa's lead to 66-64 on two free throws by Joey King with 2:58 remaining, but the Gophers went 2 for 8 from the field in the final 2 minutes.
Uthoff's 15 rebounds were a career best. He became the first Hawkeyes player with 20 points and 15 rebounds in a game since 2003.
Iowa's top scorer at 18.6 points per game, Uthoff missed his first seven shots and was held scoreless for nearly 17 minutes to open the game.
Then the senior took over during a pivotal first-half stretch.
Uthoff scored nine straight points going into halftime, helping the Hawkeyes end the first half on a 12-2 run to regain the lead. The forward got on the board with a pair of drives, then connected on a 30-foot 3-pointer.
Jok reached 20 points for the eighth time this season. The guard scored 11 of Iowa's first 15 second-half points.
Mike Gesell had 12 assists and no turnovers for the Hawkeyes. Anthony Clemmons added 12 points.
Dupree McBrayer had 12 points for Minnesota. Jordan Murphy added 11.
TIP-INS
Minnesota: The Gophers were the last team to beat Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Minnesota's 64-59 win came a year ago this week. . Sunday was the only regular-season meeting between the border rivals.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes have won 20-plus games each of the last four seasons. . Gesell was honored before the game for becoming the 45th player in program history to surpass 1,000 points. Gesell scored 17 at Indiana last Thursday to give him 1,015 in his career.
UP NEXT
Minnesota hosts No. 2 Maryland on Thursday.
Iowa plays at Penn State on Wednesday.
