Pop Issacs hit a game-winning jumper with 2 seconds remaining as Texas Tech stormed back from a 15-point deficit in the final 11-plus minutes for a 72-70 victory over Northern Iowa on Thursday afternoon in a consolation semifinal at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Issacs scored 18 points and helped Texas Tech (4-1) get the win with an off-balance jumper in the lane over Nate Heise. He started his game-winning move behind the top of the key and drove to his left before releasing a shot that banked in after Northern Iowa’s Tytan Anderson’s 3 forged a 70-70 tie with 27 seconds left.
Joe Toussaint, who made the pass to Issacs for the game-winner, led all scorers with 21 points. He scored 14 after halftime, including a tying 3 pointer with 5:05 remaining.
Darrion Williams and Devan Cambridge added 10 apiece for the Red Raiders, who will play Michigan or Stanford on Friday. The Red Raiders outscored the Panthers 29-12 over the final 11 1/2 minutes.
Heise scored 18 points for Northern Iowa (1-4), which had one basket in the final 5:49. Anderson added 14 and Bowen Born contributed 11 for the Panthers, who face Michigan or Stanford after being outscored by a combined 39 points in the second half in losses to North Carolina and Texas Tech.
The Panthers ripped off a 7-0 run and took a 27-15 lead on a reverse layup by Anderson with 6:19 left in the first half, forcing Texas Tech to burn a 30-second timeout. The Red Raiders got the deficit down to 33-29, but Born converted a four-point play and Heise hit a 3 in the final minute to put the Panthers up 40-31 by halftime.
The Panthers remained in control and took a 49-38 lead with 14 1/2 minutes left in regulation when Heise converted an easy dunk following an errant pass by Williams, resulting in another 30-second timeout by Texas Tech. Northern Iowa forced another 30-second timeout when Heise’s second dunk opened a 53-40 lead with 12:59 left.
After Northern Iowa went up 58-43 on Anderson’s free throws with 11:31 left, Toussaint scored nine points in Texas Tech’s 21-6 run and his 3 as the shot clock ran down forged a 64-64 deadlock with 5:05 left.
The Red Raiders got their first lead at 65-64 on a free throw by Cambridge and opened a four-point edge on Williams’ 3-point play with 3:26 left.
–Field Level Media