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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHICAGO (AP) -- For 30 minutes, the scrappy Iowa Hawkeyes played
with one of the best teams in the country. Then, in the closing
minutes, Mateen Cleaves and Charlie Bell did what great, veteran
players do.
|  | | Charlie Bell scored 16 points for the Spartans. |
They took the game over and they won it.
Cleaves and Bell scored 11 of Michigan State's last 18
points Friday night as the Spartans (No. 4 ESPN/USA Today, No. 5 AP) withstood a furious effort from Dean Oliver to beat the Hawkeyes 75-65 in the Big Ten tournament.
"You can't let them see you sweat," said Cleaves, who finished
with 14 poings and seven assists. "You want to win the game, but you've
got to stay calm."
Bell finished with 16 points. Morris Peterson, the coaches'
choice for Big Ten player of the year, led the Spartans (24-7) with
22 points, including 12 from 3-point range.
"Our kids did a great job competing," Iowa coach Steve Alford
said. "But with five minutes to go, their All-Americans stepped up
and made plays."
Oliver made a few plays of his own for the seventh-seeded
Hawkeyes (14-16). The junior, who was scoreless in Thursday's
first-round victory over Minnesota, bounced back with a career-high
30 points and four assists.
He outplayed Cleaves and Bell, and he came through whenever Iowa
needed a bucket to stay in the game.
"Coach was teasing me, calling me Mr. Donut, glazed for
short," Oliver said of his oh-for night Thursday. "I just forgot
about it. I was really determined to come out and have a good
showing and lead my team in this game."
But it wasn't enough for the Hawkeyes, who needed four free
throws in the final 15 seconds after blowing a 21-point lead
against Minnesota. They shot just 40 percent (24-of-60) from the
field against Michigan State, and gave up 19 points on nine
turnovers -- three of which came in the first three minutes of the
game.
Center Jacob Jaacks also sat most of the second half before
fouling out with 3:10 left to play.
The victory sends the Spartans into the tournament semifinals
Saturday, where they'll meet Wisconsin. And with so many top teams stumbling this week -- the Spartans
took the court just two hours after No. 4 Ohio State lost -- Michigan State kept alive its hopes for a second straight No. 1
seed in the NCAA tournament.
"Yeah, I saw the games on television," Peterson said. "Toward
the end of the game, that was running through my mind, how a lot of
No. 1 and No. 2 seeds were falling. But we didn't fall."
But the Spartans will have to tighten up their game. They barely
outrebounded the Hawkeyes (37-35), got only four points from their
bench and gave up 15 points on 12 turnovers.
Cleaves had four turnovers, the same number as he had in the
entire Big Ten tournament last year.
"We didn't have our best game," Cleaves said. "We're not
satisfied with how we played, but we won. I'm happy to be standing
here as a winner, preparing for the next game instead of getting on
the bus to go home."
And in the end, no matter how sloppy they play, Michigan State
always finds a way to get it done. After Oliver hit a 3-pointer and
a driving layup to cut Michigan State's lead to 51-50 with 11:54
left, the Spartans looked as if they were going to break the game
open.
Peterson hit yet another 3, his fourth of the night, Granger made a 3-pointer and Bell tipped in Peterson's miss to give Michigan State a 59-52 lead with 8:18 left.
But there, again, was that pesky Oliver. After an Iowa timeout, he hit a 12-foot jumper and a 3-pointer to make it a two-point game with 6:54 left.
"I felt confident. I really thought we were going to win the game," Oliver said. "It seemed like everything was going our way."
Until Cleaves and Bell decided they'd had enough. Bell hit a
jumper, and Cleaves followed with a jumper in the lane. After Jason
Richardson made two free throws, Cleaves hit another jumper to give
the Spartans a 67-58 lead with 2:17 left, and the game was all but
over.
"We've played some pretty good teams," said Alford, whose team
also played Connecticut, Stanford and Missouri. "And I think
Michigan State is the best team we've played this year."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Iowa Clubhouse
Michigan State Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mateen Cleaves drives to the basket and scores.
avi: 888 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Dean Oliver drains the 3-pointer.
avi: 608 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Morris Peterson battles for the rebound and gets the foul.
avi: 702 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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