Dec. 1, 2006
Box Score
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Justin Johnson scored a career-high 14 points and freshman Tyler Smith added 12 as Iowa beat Texas-Pan American 62-46 Friday to snap a four-game losing streak.
Tony Freeman chipped in 10 points and five assists for Iowa (3-4), which advanced to Saturday night's Hawkeye Challenge final against Coppin State.
The Eagles surprised LaSalle 69-68 in Friday's tourney opener.
The Broncos, a Division I independent with four junior college transfers in the starting lineup, made it interesting early but were eventually overwhelmed by Iowa's superior size and talent.
The Hawkeyes outscored the Broncos 35-23 in the second half, using a 17-2 run to put the game away.
Texas-Pan American (5-2) got as close as 30-28 before Iowa asserted itself. Smith followed a Seth Gorney basket with two quick scores in the paint, and Johnson buried a 3-pointer to put the Hawkeyes ahead 43-30.
Gorney and Freeman added scores to push Iowa's lead to 17. Texas-Pan American answered with seven quick points to get within 47-37, but Freeman's 3-point play put the lead back at 13. The Broncos didn't get any closer.
Brian Burrell led Texas-Pan American with 16 points.
The Broncos trailed 16-14 midway through the first half before Freeman stripped Paul Stoll and dished to Adam Haluska for an easy layup. Johnson followed with a 3, but Texas-Pan American pulled back within 22-20 with a little over 3 minutes left in the first half.
Iowa struggled to find its rhythm on both ends of the floor in the opening 20 minutes, leading 27-23 against a team that beat just three Division I opponents a year ago. Iowa coach Steve Alford was far from happy about the Hawkeyes' play, slamming a clipboard to the floor following a 3-pointer from Johnathan Chatman late in the first half.
Haluska, Iowa's leading scorer this season, had just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting. Iowa came two points away from matching its season low of 60.
