Game story from Dec. 3, 1986 (victory over Missouri-St. Louis)

Dec. 3, 1986

Hawks glide to fourth win in row, 89-64

Defense helps No. 5 Iowa trim Missouri-St. Louis

By RICK BROWN

Register Staff Writer

IOWA CITY, Ia. – Fifth-ranked Iowa romped to its 24th consecutive victory in a home opener with an 89-64 triumph over undermanned Missouri-St. Louis Wednesday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes got off to a sluggish start and it appeared that they were still on Cloud Nin from their victory in the Great Alaska Shootout over the weekend.

Iowa committed five turnovers in the first 3 ½ minutes of the game against their Division II opponents. But it rebounded soon after, keyed by an aggressive defensive performance, to improve to 4-0 heading into Friday’s game with Delaware in the first round of the Amana-Hawkeye Classic.

Joe Moe scored 14 points, B.J. Armstrong 11, and Kevin Gamble 10 for Iowa. Gamble didn’t play in the second half after suffering a thigh bruise.

Birthday Present

The victory marked a successful home-court premier for Tom Davis as Hawkeye coach. Davis also celebrated his 48th birthday Wednesday, and the crowd of 15,341 sang “Happy Birthday” to him before the game.

“I appreciated the thought but it was a little embarrassing,” Davis said. “I’ve had too many birthdays anyway.”

After the slow start, Moe came off the bench to spark the Hawkeyes. He scored 13 of his points in the first half and Iowa enjoyed leads as large as 21 points before heading into halftime ahead, 47-28.

“It was tough getting ready for this game,” said Moe. “We didn’t play especially well on offense, but we did it with defense and that’s what counts.”

Strong Defense

The Hawkeyes, who made 14 of 15 free throws in the opening 20 minutes and had converted 17 of 18 at one point in the final half, built the lead as large as 30 points in the final half.

“I thought we worked very hard defensively,” Davis observed. “Our offense did not go real well, but it didn’t stop us from playing defense. It was a real good win for us because we were coming off an emotional high, yet we played hart. That was very pleasing to me.”

Iowa, which shot a school record 69.8 percent from the field in its last outing against Northeastern, shot just 43.2 percent (16-of-37) in the opening half. But it improved to 57.1 percent (16-of-28) in the second half for a game average of 49.2.

“Iowa is certainly a top 20 team, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them still a top five team by February,” said Missouri-St. Louis Coach Rick Meckfessel. “All the ingredients are there.”

Reserve Plays

Davis was able to play his entire bench much of the second half, and one new face was Michael Reaves.

The junior from Milledgeville, Ga., who had won the starting point guard position before injuring a knee in preseason practice, needed arthroscopic surgery.

He returned to practice for the first time Tuesday and got his first action of the season with 5 minutes left in the game.

“At Alaska, we were never able to go deeper than nine players,” said Davis. “We were able to get the bench guys some experience. Playing guys like Les Jespen, Mark Jewell, Bart Casey, Michael Morgan, and Michael Reaves was a real bonus for us.”

MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS (64) — Stanley 0-2 4-4 4, Brooks 4-15 2-4 10, Strater 6-11 2-4 16, Love 6-12 0-0 13, Young 2-4 0-0 4, Scales 1-4 0-0 2, Gregory 1-2 0-0 2, Thomas 3-4 3-5 9, Morganfield 1-3 2-2 4, Shipp 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 13-19 64.

IOWA (89) — Marble 2-5 3-3 7, Lohaus 4-8 1-1 9, Horton 2-9 0-3 4, Gamble 2-4 6-6 10, Armstrong 4-9 3-3 11, Hill 2-3 2-3 6, Jones 3-5 2-4 8, Lorenzen 2-5 2-4 6, Moe 6-7 1-2 14, Morgan 3-5 3-4 9, Casey 0-0 0-0 0, Jewell 0-0 0-0 0, Jepsen 0-0 1-3 1, Reaves 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 32-65 24-36 89.

Halftime—Iowa 47, UMSL 28. Fouled Out—Gregory. Rebounds—UMSL 34 (Brooks 9), Iowa 44 (Lohaus 7). Assists—UMSL 13 (Brooks 3), Iowa 14 (Armstrong, Jones 3). Total Fouls—UMSL 28, Iowa 18. Technicals—None. Attendance—15,341.