IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Tre Demps scored a team-high 15 points and eclipsed 1,000 points in his career but Northwestern dropped its regular-season finale to Iowa 69-52 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Saturday.
Senior Aaron White got the hosts off on the right foot as he knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and threw down a dunk as Iowa surged out to an 11-4 lead by the first media timeout.
A slow offensive start for Northwestern saw the Hawkeyes' lead eventually grow to 11 before Sanjay Lumpkin connected on a 3-pointer out of the corner and Vic Law hit a pair of free throws.
Iowa extended its lead back up to 12, 21-9, but a three-point play by Alex Olah and a triple by Demps closed the deficit to six.
Two more 3-pointers by Law and Demps made it a 14-4 run as the `Cats closed to within 25-23 with 5:32 remaining in the opening half. However, the Hawkeyes tallied eight straight points to push their lead back up to 10.
Two free throws by Dave Sobolewski and a basket by JerShon Cobb that beat the first-half buzzer closed Northwestern to within 33-27 at the break.
Iowa tallied the first two baskets of the second half to push its lead to double digits once again and Northwestern burned an early timeout.
The 'Cats fell behind by as many as 17 before a brief surge got them within 58-47 with 6:16 remaining. The Hawkeyes answered with back-to-back baskets by White, though, and Northwestern never seriously threatened again.
The Wildcats had trouble getting any consistent offense going throughout the contest as the Hawkeyes forced 15 turnovers.
The Hawkeyes corralled 14 offensive rebounds in the game to only one for Northwestern, leading to a 16-0 advantage in second-chance points. White led Iowa with 25 points in his final home game.
The 'Cats return to action either Wednesday or Thursday in the Big Ten tournament at United Center in Chicago. The exact date, time and opponent are still to be determined.
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