Iowa Wins In Davis' Last Game

February 23, 1999 / 11:00 PM EST / CBS Sportsline

It was too much Jess Settles and too much emotion for Northwestern on Tuesday night against No. 18 Iowa.

Settles scored 16 points as the Hawkeyes beat the Wildcats 65-48 to give coach Tom Davis a victory in his last home game after 13 seasons in Iowa City.

"It was very emotional for me. I think the players knew that. I think they sensed that," said Davis, whose contract ends after the season and is not being extended by athletic director Bob Bowlsby. "I tried not to show the emotion on the outside."

"I think the players sensed this was a big game for a lot of reasons."

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Northwestern coach Kevin O'Neill said he thought it was "unfortunate" that it was Davis' last game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

"I hope he coaches again. Tom's got a lot of good years left in him," O'Neill said. "It's really unfortunate for those players, especially those younger ones who came here to play for Tom."

A good portion of the student section thought it was unfortunate, too, breaking out into choruses of "Fire Bowlsby" with 3:40 to play and Iowa safely ahead. They charged the court after the game, surrounding the players and Davis and chanting his name.

Bowlsby showed no visible reaction to the negative chant, and Davis said he does not condone that kind of behavior.

"I don't approve of that. It doesn't make me feel any better to be ripping on somebody else," Davis said. "I don't want that kind of thing. It doesn't make anybody feel good."

The program's winningest coach, Davis has a 267-137 record at Iowa going into the regular-season finale Saturday at Indiana. He has a 541-287 overall record in 28 years of coaching.

Settles, a sixth-year senior also playing for the last ime at home, added seven rebounds for the Hawkeyes (18-7, 9-6 Big Ten), who beat Northwestern for the eighth straight time, 15 of the past 16 games and 24 of the past 26.

J.R. Koch and Joey Range each had 11 points and Dean Oliver had a career-high 12 rebounds for Iowa.

David Newman scored 11 points and Tavaras Hardy had 10 for the Wildcats (14-11, 6-9), who haven't won in Iowa City since 1994.

The Hawkeyes bolted to a 17-0 lead, not allowing a point until Hardy hit a 15-foot jumper at the 12:08 mark of the first half.

Northwestern, which attempted just seven shots in the first eight minutes while committing eight turnovers, settled down to chop Iowa's lead to 29-17 at halftime.

Two free throws by Koch capped a 14-7 Iowa spurt to start the second half and give the Hawkeyes a 43-24 lead with 13:14 remaining.

The Wildcats, who have lost five straight, were hampered in the opening minutes of the second half when center Evan Eschmeyer picked up his third and fourth fouls and was taken out with 17:22 to play.

It was the second straight sub-par game for Eschmeyer, who is averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds per game.

Eschmeyer scored a season-low eight points and added three rebounds while attempting only four shots against the Hawkeyes. Eschmeyer was held to 10 points last Saturday in a 59-49 loss at Ohio State.