Hawkeyes drop Paradise Jam opener to Xavier

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

The Iowa Hawkeyes lost their first of three games at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, V.I., to Xavier on Friday, 86-73. The loss drops Iowa to 1-2, and the Hawkeyes will play a consolation game on Saturday against Alabama, who was defeated earlier in the evening by Seton Hall.

Leading the way for Iowa were a pair of juniors. Matt Gatens returned to the starting lineup for the first time this season after having surgery on a torn tendon in his left hand, and the 6-5 guard had 15 points in his 2010-11 debut.

Meanwhile, 6-9 forward Devon Archie came off the bench and with the rest of the Hawkeye interior dealing with foul trouble all evening, wound up playing a significant role by posting a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Although Iowa never held a lead against the Musketeers, the Hawkeyes did manage to hang around with them. But fouls became an issue all evening, especially inside. Freshman forward Zach McCabe came off the bench and finished with seven points, but fouled out of the game. As well, freshman Melsahn Basabe, senior Jarryd Cole, and junior Andrew Brommer each had four fouls. Xavier finished 30-of-37 from the foul line.

Iowa did hold a 36-29 advantage in rebounding, with 18 of those 36 boards coming at the offensive end.

The Hawkeyes’ game against the Crimson Tide on Saturday will be a 5 p.m. CST tip-off. Iowa will play either Long Beach State or St. Peter’s at a time to be determined on Monday in its final contest before heading back to the mainland.