Minnesota Minnesota/Iowa Iowa Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

Reggie Evans had 19 points and 15 rebounds as the Hawkeyes (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) beat Minnesota 64-55 Wednesday night despite having Recker and fellow starter Duez Henderson sit out with injuries.

"I really felt I had to step it up in the leadership department, that was the biggest key," Evans said. "It says a lot for us. We came out with the mentality that just because they're hurt, we've still got to go out and play 100 percent."

Iowa coach Steve Alford, whose team grabbed a share of first place with No. 6 Illinois' overtime loss to Penn State, said Evans carried the Hawkeyes when they needed him.

"He was our go-to guy down the stretch. I thought Reggie hurt them. His teammates got him the ball and he made them pay," Alford said.

Minnesota guard John-Blair Bickerstaff said the Golden Gophers need to stay more focused.

"This is a pattern we've developed -- not playing 40 minutes. For us to be successful, we have to play 40 minutes," he said.

Ryan Hogan finished with 12 points while filling in for Recker, who missed his third game this year because of a sore right knee, as Iowa (17-4, 6-2 Big Ten) won its third straight.

Bickerstaff scored 21 points for Minnesota (15-6, 3-5), which lost its third straight.

Henderson warmed up but decided to sit out to rest an injured ankle, but the Hawkeyes' deep bench was still too much -- barely -- for a Minnesota team playing with only eight scholarship players after third-leading scorer Michael Bauer broke his arm last Saturday against Purdue. He is out for the season.

"I thought that we gave it a good effort, but as we all know, effort is only part of the game. We have to find a way to win. Offensively, we were not in sync. We have to learn how to play better," said Minnesota coach Dan Monson, who was called for a technical foul with 11.1 seconds to play.

"I was losing. That's what I was upset about," he said.

The Golden Gophers trailed 43-28 with 12:37 to play but went on a 19-7 run, capped by Terrance Simmons' 3-pointer, to trail by three with 5:40 remaining. Simmons finished with nine points.

Dean Oliver sank two free throws to give Iowa a 52-47 edge, but Shane Schilling answered with two free throws at the 3:39 mark to cut the Hawkeyes' lead to three.

Iowa opened a 55-49 lead on a Jared Reiner free throw and dunk by Evans, but Bickerstaff drained two free throws to make it a 55-51 game at the 1:53 mark.

Evans answered with a basket 20 seconds later as Iowa regained its six-point margin, and the Hawkeyes sank seven of eight free throws in the final 39.8 seconds to prevail.

Evans, who scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Iowa's 87-74 victory over Minnesota last Wednesday, shot 7-of-15 as he recorded his 15th double-double, including his third in the last four games.

The Golden Gophers grabbed an early lead and opened a 16-10 edge on Bickerstaff's 3-pointer from the top of the key. Evans' basket cut it to 16-12 and the Hawkeyes scored 15 of the next 17 points to take a 27-18 lead with 1:02 before halftime.

Minnesota made just 8-of-28 field goals (28.6 percent) in the first 20 minutes while Iowa shot 40.9 percent while outrebounding the Golden Gophers by a 20-14 margin.

ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard

Minnesota Clubhouse

Iowa Clubhouse

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Without Luke Recker, Iowa goes on to win its third conference game in a row.
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