This business of winning trophies is nothing new to Steve Alford. But when the Iowa coach and his players hoisted the Big Ten tournament hardware Sunday, it had an emotional feel to it.
“A lot of people say the seniors deserve this, but coach has been there with us, taken a lot more beating than we’ve taken,” guard Jeff Horner said. “For him to stay here and stand by us like this is just awesome. We know he’ll have our back forever and we have his too.”
On Sunday, it was Horner who had Alford’s back. The senior shook off a strained muscle and led the Hawkeyes to a come-from-behind 67-60 victory over Ohio State at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Horner scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, finished with 10 assists and was voted the tournament’s most outstanding player as Iowa won its second Big Ten tournament under Alford, who led the ’01 Hawkeyes to victory at the United Center.
Iowa takes a 25-8 record and momentum into the NCAA tournament, but if this is their last run with Alford, the Hawkeyes made it memorable. Alford, the star of Indiana’s 1987 national championship team, who remains a hero to many in his native state, will be considered a candidate to succeed Mike Davis at his alma mater until someone else does.
In the meantime, Iowa can savor an upset of the top-seeded Buckeyes (25-5), who appeared on their way to their eighth straight win midway through the second half.
Ohio State, which led by nine in the first half, took its biggest second-half lead at 56-50 on a jumper by guard Jamar Butler (19 points). A free throw by Ron Lewis made it 57-52, at which point the Hawkeyes took over.
A three-point shot by Horner started a 12-0 run that gave the Hawkeyes a 64-57 lead and control of the game. His layup gave Iowa the lead for good at 59-57.
Horner also had the final basket of the run. But a three-pointer by reserve Alex Thompson off a Horner assist made it 62-57, brought Hawkeyes fans in the crowd of 17,591 to their feet, and prompted an Ohio State timeout. It marked the only points of the tournament for Thompson, who was playing because senior forward Greg Brunner was on the bench with four fouls.
Ohio State went 7 minutes 20 seconds without a field goal before center Terence Dials scored on a layup, was fouled and made the free throw to pull the Buckeyes within 64-60 with 1:40 left.
Then Iowa junior guard Adam Haluska (15 points) made three free throws down the stretch to wrap it up.
“We ran out of gas down the stretch with only nine scholarship players,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. “And we went cold.”
Matta used only seven players. Backup center Matt Terwilliger is due to an appendectomy. That became a factor when Dials was limited to 22 minutes by foul trouble. He still managed 10 points and nine rebounds.
Dials went to the bench with two fouls after 7:43 of the first half with Ohio State ahead 14-12. The Buckeyes extended their lead without him, and were ahead 37-34 at the break.
At halftime, Horner had seven assists but only two points. Alford said Horner was feeling the effects of straining a rib muscle while stretching before the game.
“He really got a blank look on his face and I could see he was concerned,” Alford said.
“We told him, `You’re such a tough individual, you’re going to have to find a way to fight through this again.’ He was the difference between us in the first half and second half.”
But in many ways, the day belonged to Alford, not Horner.
“He’s been a father figure for both of us (Brunner and Horner) and we love him dearly,” Brunner said. “It’s our senior year and to go out with this with one more run, it’s our way of saying thanks to him.”
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tabannon@tribune.com
