The shots stopped falling and the Iowa Energy watched a 17-point lead vanish Friday.

It was another fourth-quarter grinder for Iowa, and that has been danger time all season. The Energy entered the game with a 5-20 record when the final margin was less than 10 points.

But something was different this time. Justin Hurtt and Othyus Jeffers made big shots. The Energy made free throws. The Sioux Falls Skyforce were clanking theirs.

The result was a 107-100 Iowa victory before an announced crowd of 4,464 at Wells Fargo Arena.

“We showed really good grit tonight,” Iowa coach Bruce Wilson said.

“Getting some stops in there, getting the rebounds when we needed to get the rebounds, and they helped us a little bit at the free-throw line. But I’ll take that because we’ve had that on our own end, too, where we haven’t hit our free throws.”

But never like this. Sioux Falls (22-19) missed 12 of its 14 attempts from the stripe in the fourth quarter, an epidemic of ugliness that spread throughout the team and gave Iowa a confidence boost with each misfire.

Iowa (10-32) had its best shooting half of the season at the outset, making 10-of-12 3-pointers to take a 71-57 lead at intermission. Robert Hite made a half-courter just before the first-quarter buzzer and Alex Ruoff grazed the backboard with a corner 3 that beat the halftime horn.

It was that kind of evening.

“We shot it well in shootaround, but I don’t know. It was a good day for us,” Hurtt said after scoring a game-high 24 points. “Guys were hot today.”

It didn’t last. Iowa missed all seven of its second-half 3-pointers and watched the Skyforce pound away at the lead. Sioux Falls outscored Iowa 60-32 in the paint.

“They came out a little more aggressive in the second half. We came out, we weren’t focused and ready,” said Hite, who has been pressed into service as the backup point guard after starter Chris Wright got called up by the Dallas Mavericks this week.

Hite tore his Achilles while playing in Italy last April and didn’t return to action until this winter in Iowa. He finished with 13 points and led Iowa with seven assists and four steals.

Beating a Sioux Falls team fighting for a playoff berth wasn’t the goal, he said. Finding anything positive in a season gone awry was.

“We’re not really concentrating on being a spoiler. We’re just trying to win games,” Hite said. “It’s been a tough season for us. And being in last place, a lot of guys don’t take us seriously. So whenever we step out there we want to put our best forward.”

SIOUX FALLS (100)—Nichols 7-16 4-6 19, Davis 4-5 0-1 8, Mays 5-8 4-9 14, Thompson 8-20 2-3 21, Barrett 5-10 0-2 12, Tarver 2-8 0-0 5, Saunders 3-4 0-4 7, Davis 4-8 0-0 8, Ayer 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 41-84 10-25.

IOWA (107)—Jeffers 5-10 6-6 17, Harris 5-12 5-6 16, Famous 3-10 2-2 8, Hurtt 6-13 10-12 24, Murphy 2-4 2-4 6, Ruoff 3-8 2-2 10, Gilchrist 3-6 2-6 8, Hite 5-10 0-0 13, Strong 2-3 0-0 5. Totals 34-76 29-38.


(desmoinesregister.com)

The Iowa Energy today announced the signing of two new players, Robert Hite and Gus Gilchrist.

Hite, 6-2, 185, played in 12 games with the Miami Heat during the 2006-2007 season and averaged 4.3 points and 1.3 rebounds. He spent last season in Italy and has played in some of the top international leagues in the world.

Prior to his professional career, Hite played collegiately at Miami, where he holds averages of 14.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists over 4 seasons. Hite replaces guard Mustapha Farrakhan who was recently waived by the Energy.

Gilchrist, a 6-10 rookie from South Florida, replaces Josh Boone, who is out for the season with a knee injury. He averaged 11.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game over his 4 year career at South Florida. Gilchrist led the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational Tournament with 16.7 rebounds per game after his senior season.

Hite and Gilchrist will be in uniform as the Energy host the Springfield Armor for a double-header this Friday and Saturday. Both games tip at 7pm. Friday, Feb. 1st is Girls Night Out and Saturday, Feb. 2nd is 70's Night, featuring the Sandou Trio Russian Bar acrobats at halftime. For ticket information, please visit www.IowaNBA.com or call (515) 564-8550.


(desmoinesregister.com)