IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Luke Recker scored 21 points and Reggie Evans recorded his third double-double in as many games with 17 points and 15 rebounds as Iowa beat Georgia Tech 85-67 Tuesday night.
Iowa (3-0) took the lead for good midway through the first half after trailing by as many as six points and pulled away from the Yellow Jackets (3-1) down the stretch.
Dean Oliver added 14 points for Iowa, which outrebounded Tech 45-22 and shot 62 percent in the second half. Alvin Jones led Georgia Tech with 24 points. Tony Akins and Marvin Lewis each scored 15.
Iowa led 54-42, its biggest lead to that point, after Recker sank three free throws with 12:30 left. Akins then scored seven straight Georgia Tech points, including a 3-pointer that drew the Yellow Jackets to 56-49. They got no closer.
Oliver sank two free throws for a 58-49 lead and answered a Georgia Tech basket with a 3-pointer from the left wing. A Ryan Hogan free throw and a 3-pointer by Recker finished an 11-2 run that gave Iowa a 65-51 lead with 8:47 remaining.
Recker then hit two more 3-pointers to keep Iowa safely ahead, the first with 4:50 left to make it 75-61 and the second with 3:25 to play, starting an 8-0 burst that stretched the lead to 83-65 and finished off the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech gave Iowa trouble early with its full-court press and by getting the ball inside to the 6-foot-11 Jones, a senior going against a freshman, Jared Reiner.
Jones made his first four shots as Georgia Tech took an 11-5 lead, and the Yellow Jackets led 16-11 after Lewis’ jump shot with 13:48 left in the half. At that point, Iowa had more turnovers (7) than baskets (4).
But Jones was not as effective when the 6-8 Evans switched on to him and Georgia Tech could not press when it stopped making shots. After making seven shots in the first 6:12, the Yellow Jackets made only three over the next 8 minutes and Iowa capitalized.
Evans scored on two strong moves inside to start a 10-0 run that pulled Iowa into a 21-16 lead and the Hawkeyes led the rest of the way.
