The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Iowa
Men's Basketball falls to Iowa in Maui Invitational semifinals
11.23.2004 | Men's Basketball
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) - Pierre Pierce hit a 25-foot jumper with 44 seconds left to give Iowa the lead for good, and the Hawkeyes beat No. 15 Texas 82-80 on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational.
Iowa (3-0) will face either No. 11 North Carolina or Tennessee in the championship game on Wednesday.
It was Iowa's second straight win over a ranked team following 76-71 victory over No. 12 Louisville in the opening round.
With the Hawkeyes trailing by two in the final minute, Pierce stood with the ball in front of the Iowa bench, but no Texas defender came out toward him. He waited as his teammates tried to get free, then let fly with a long jumper that gave the Hawkeyes a 79-78 lead.
The 3-point line is 9 inches further back than normal in this tournament, but that didn't even matter because Pierce was well behind where the NBA line would have been.
Jeff Horner, who led Iowa with 27 points, made two free throws with 21 seconds left, but P.J. Tucker of Texas scored with 8 seconds remaining to bring the Longhorns (2-1) to 81-80.
Horner made one of two free throws with 7.3 seconds left and Tucker, who made a buzzer-beating shot to beat Providence last season, was off the mark with a shot in the lane just before the buzzer sounded.
Pierce, who had 18 points and seven assists, hurt his ankle on the final play and was on the floor in pain while his teammates celebrated. When they noticed him they picked him up and helped him to the locker room.
Brad Buckman led Texas with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman point guard Daniel Gibson had 14 points and six assists.
Texas led 38-37 at halftime and neither team was up by more than six points in the second half. There were three lead changes and three ties in the final 3:06.
Horner, who had six assists, was 6-for-10 from 3-point range and Pierre, who shot 25.5 percent on 3s last season, was 3-for-7. The Hawkeyes were 9-for-24 from behind the arc.
Texas was 11-for-21 on 3s, with Sydmill Harris going 3-for-4 and Gibson 3-for-6.
The Longhorns struggled with foul trouble as reserve forward Jason Klotz fouled out and four starters finished with four each.
Iowa won this tournament, which is sponsored by EA Sports, in 1987.
