Tigers rally for win 78-77

Associated Press Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- After hearing it at least a half-dozen times, Clarence Gilbert started frowning at the questions:

How did it feel to miss that first free throw? What was going through your mind?

But Gilbert was patient with the questioners, giving the same answer each time: "I just knew I had to hit the second one."

He did, with eight-tenths of a second left, capping his 27-point night and rallying No. 5 Missouri over No. 9 Iowa 78-77 Wednesday night in the championship game of the Guardians Classic.

"I'd do it all over again," said Gilbert, who was 8-for-11 from the line and 5-for-11 from 3-point range for Missouri.

The Tigers won despite being outrebounded 37-27.

Gilbert, the tournament MVP, went into the corner to rebound a missed shot by Iowa's Glen Worley. Gilbert drove downcourt and was fouled by Worley as he shot from just inside the 3-point line.

He missed his first shot after two timeouts by Iowa (4-1) -- but after Iowa called a third timeout, he completed a rally that saw Missouri (4-0) come back from a 73-62 deficit in the final 2:12.

"I thought our kids showed unbelievable character," Missouri coach Quin Snyder said. "When they were protecting their lead, we could be more aggressive defensively."

Iowa coach Steve Alford couldn't believe the turn the game took in the last two minutes, either.

"I've been in this business for 11 years, and I've never seen what happened in the last two minutes," he said. "Luke Recker was tackled at the end line ... Luke Recker was tackled on the baseline, and it resulted in a jump ball that they won."

Recker, who scored 17 points for Iowa, refused to comment on the officiating. Instead, he put the blame on his 6-for-18 shooting from the field.

"I'm supposed to be the go-to guy on offense, and I go 6-for-18," he said. "That's on my shoulders. I'm not saying I have to take 18 shots, but if I do I'd better make at least half of them."

Reggie Evans, who led Iowa with 21 points and 11 rebounds, scored eight points in an 11-2 run that gave the Hawkeyes a 61-49 lead with just over seven minutes left.

Wesley Stokes scored seven of his 17 points and Gilbert had four in an 11-4 surge that cut Iowa's lead to 73-70 with just over a minute remaining.

Two free throws by Ryan Hogan put Iowa up 77-71 with 41 seconds left, but Missouri tied it on 3-pointers by Kareem Rush -- who started despite breaking his nose in Tuesday night's 75-68 semifinal win over No. 22 Alabama -- and Rickey Paulding, whose game-tying shot came with 24 seconds left.

Rush's forehead was still swollen on Wednesday, but he did not wear any protective gear. Despite being held scoreless for much of the second half, he finished with 11 points and led the Tigers with six rebounds.

"My vision was blurry the whole night, but war wounds are part of the game," he said.

Recker joined Gilbert and Adams on the all-tournament team, along with Memphis' Dajuan Wagner and Alabama's Rod Grizzard.

Iowa outrebounded the Tigers 21-10 in the first half and led 34-20 at the break.

Gilbert hit two quick 3-pointers as Missouri took a 10-2 lead, but Evans hit two baskets in a 12-5 run that put the Hawkeyes up 32-25 with 3:40 left in the half.