March 24, 2003
By TODD DVORAK
Associated Press Writer
IOWA CITY, Iowa – B.J. Elder scored with less than a second left to lift Georgia Tech to the NIT quarterfinal round with a 79-78 victory over Iowa Monday night.
With 6.2 seconds to go, Elder got the ball near midcourt, dribbled to the key and backed up an Iowa defender into the paint before launching his buzzer-beating shot.
The win puts the Yellow Jackets (16-14) in the quarterfinal round at Texas Tech Wednesday and one victory from its first NIT final four since 1971.
Chris Bosh led Georgia Tech with 17 points and Ed Nelson and Jarrett Jack had 12 apiece as the Yellow Jackets won for just the third time on the road all season.
Elder’s last-second heroics spoiled a thrilling second-half rally by Iowa and a 27-point performance by Iowa’s senior guard Chauncey Leslie.
Iowa (17-14) trailed by 18 points in the first half as Georgia Tech’s speed and quickness caused the Hawkeyes fits on both ends of the court.
Trailing 36-18 with 7:44 to go, Iowa closed out the half with a 19-8 run.
Iowa didn’t take long to erase what remained of Georgia Tech’s lead in the second. A 3-pointer by Jeff Horner cut the lead to two and Leslie gave Iowa its first tie at 44 with a fast break layup with 18:44 to go.
The teams traded baskets for the next six minutes, but a putback by Theodis Tarver gave the Yellow Jackets a 58-54 lead with 11:47 to go.
Then Leslie, playing his last game, hit a pair of 3-pointers and another from the left wing by Brody Boyd put Iowa on top 67-63 at the 7:32 mark.
But the Hawkeyes got into foul trouble, losing Greg Brunner with 3:00 to go after fouling Bosh. Bosh hit both free throws to put Georgia Tech back on top 75-74 with three minutes left.
With 59 seconds left, Leslie put Iowa up by one when he scored on a fast break. He was fouled on the play but missed the free throw.
After Bosh was fouled by Glen Worley – his fifth – and sank both free throws, Leslie drove the lane and scored on a finger roll with 17 seconds left, setting up Georgia Tech’s final possession.
The teams played as evenly as the score suggests. Georgia Tech shot 47.3 percent compared to 43.1 percent for Iowa. Georgia Tech had 15 turnovers to 14 for Iowa, but the Yellow Jackets had a 38-27 rebounding advantage.
Boyd scored 17 points for Iowa and Sean Sonderleiter chipped in 13 points and six rebounds.
