Game story from Dec. 9, 1986 (victory over Brigham Young)

Dec. 9, 1986

Moe’s 28 points lift Hawks to best start in seven years, 86-75

By Buck Turnbull

Register Staff Writer

Iowa City, IA. – Jeff Moe came off the bench and furnished the spark with a career-high 28 points for Iowa’s streaking basketball team Tuesday night, lifting the unbeaten Hawkeyes to an 86-75 victory over Brigham Young.

Iowa, seeking to justify a lofty No. 4 national ranking, raised its record to 7-0 for the school’s best start in seven years.

Moe hit 10 straight points in the second half, including two three-point shots, and his 2-minute outburst quickly built Iowa’s lead from 52-50.

He made eight of his 13 tries from the field, all nine free throws, and contributed six rebounds.

“Jeff made some crucial free throws that let us hold off Brigham Young’s late charge,” said Iowa Coach Tom Davis.

“When you look at the stats, the points always stick out, but Jeff also did a good rebounding job, and it’s the things like that that really help.”

16 Points By Marble

Roy Marble followed Moe in the Hawkeye scoring column with 16 points, collecting 14 in the first half, and B.J Armstrong was next with 15.

After Brigham Young came back from a 15-point deficit and chopped Iowa’s lead to 77-72, the Hawks were forced into a late stall, with Armstrong firing home a clutch three-point basket that finally wrapped up the victory.

Asked if the Hawkeyes deserve their fourth-place rating, Brigham Young Coach Ladell Andersen said:

“They sure do right now. They sold me. There aren’t many teams in the country who are playing any better basketball.

“I vote on some of the national boards, and they’re getting my vote.”

Upon hearing that in the coaches’ interview room, Davis quipped: “I’m not sure I want your vote right now.”

Moe, a 6-foot 4-inch junior from Indianapolis, Ind., seemed to be tossing in baskets when Iowa needed them most.

In the first half, he connected on a three-point shot to give the Hawks a 23-22 lead. Later, when they were trailing by 38-34, Moe scored on a layup, was fouled and added the free throw, starting a run of eight straight Iowa points on the way to a 45-40 halftime lead.

Works On Free Throws

“It really felt good to make all those free throws,” said Moe. “I was only 2-for-8 in the Amana Classic (title game against Loyola-Marymount), and I’ve been working hard on that.

“Brigham Young is a good ball club. They remind me of a Big Ten team – big and very physical – and it really feels good to win a game like this.”

Both teams substituted freely in the crowd –pleasing game, before a Carver-Hawkeye Arena turnout of 15,416, but it was run-and-gun BYU that wore down at the end of each half, not Iowa.

The Cougars (1-2) didn’t score a basket in the last 6 minutes 15 seconds of the first half, and they managed only one in the game’s final 41/2 minutes.

“I wasn’t sure if our players knew just how good Brigham Young is,” said Davis. “I would hate to play this team in February or March when they get it all together.

“They did a lot of things to disrupt us – things we haven’t seen before.

“But down the stretch our team rose to the challenge. I had my doubts. There were several times when I thought we might fold up.”

Double Figures

The Cougars finished with four players in double figures. Bob Capener was the leader with 21 points, including four three-pointers (but in 12 attempts), Jeff Chatman had 20, Mike Smith 15 and Jim Usevitch 12.

BYU hit nine of its first 13 shots, for an early 20-14 lead, but the Cougars cooled off after that and shot only 40 percent for the game. And they never could find an answer for the hustling Moe.

Next up for Iowa is a trip to Des Moines for a Saturday night game against Drake in Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Then the Hawks take a week off for semester exams before facing Iowa State at home on Saturday night, Dec. 20.

BRIGHAM YOUNG (75) — Chatman 9-18 2-4 20, Smith 7-15 0-0 15, Gneiting 1-3 3-3 5, Haws 0-3 2-4 2, Capener 8-21 1-2 21, Usevitch 4-7 4-6 12, Humphreys 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor 0-3 0-0 0, Wade 0-1 0-0 0, Stephenson 0-0 0-0 0, Call 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-72 12-19 75.

IOWA (86) — Marble 6-12 4-5 16, Lohaus 3-8 2-4 8, Horton 3-4 3-4 9, Armstrong 4-8 6-10 15, Gamble 2-6 0-0 4, Lorenzen 0-3 1-2 1, Jones 1-1 0-2 2, Moe 8-13 9-9 28, Hill 1-1 1-2 3, Casey 0-0 0-0 0, Jepsen 0-0 0-0 0, Morgan 0-0 0-0 0, Jewell 0-0 0-0 0, Reaves 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-57 26-38 86.

Halftime—Iowa 45, BYU 40. Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—BYU 43 (Chatman 13), Iowa 44 (Lohaus 10). Assists—BYU 18 (Haws 11), Iowa 18 (Armstrong 6. Total Fouls—BYU 28, Iowa 16. Technicals—BYU bench, Taylor. Attendance—15,416.