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Northwestern holds on to beat Iowa 70-66 Saturday

Sports

March 4th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Drew Crawford scored 18 points as Northwestern beat Iowa 70-66 on Saturday, boosting the Wildcats’ hopes for their first NCAA tournament bid. Iowa’s Josh Oglesby missed a 3-pointer from the wing with 4 seconds left that would have given the Hawkeyes the lead. Northwestern (18-12, 8-10 Big Ten) needed this win after losing two of its last three games. The Wildcats overcame an early 15-point deficit and held on in their last game before the Big Ten tournament. Alex Marcotullio’s two free throws with 2 seconds left sealed the win for Northwestern.  Senior Matt Gatens scored 17 points to lead Iowa (16-15, 8-10).   Northwestern went on a 17-0 run late in the first half to lead 42-35 at halftime. Iowa failed to hit a field goal in the last seven minutes of the half. The Hawkeyes shot 53 percent in the first half, but committed 13 turnovers.