Inconsistency mars Hoosiers in 2nd conference loss

IOWA CITY, IOWA -- A slow start, again, hurt the Hoosiers.\nBut a second slow start killed them.\nNo. 11 IU spotted the Hawkeyes seven points in the first half before sophomore Robert Vaden finally answered with a three at the 16:52 mark. But a near-five minute scoreless drought and a 14-0 Iowa run to start the second half sealed the Hoosiers' fate, and propelled Iowa to a 73-60 victory at home. \n"I thought Steve (Alford) had his guys ready to play," IU coach Mike Davis said. "We had open shots -- they contested them. When we caught them, they blocked us out. They beat us to loose balls. They did everything they needed to do to win the basketball game."\nVaden and senior forward Marco Killingsworth provided IU's first half wake-up call by scoring the Hoosiers' first 14 points. In the second half, however, Davis benched Killingsworth after two minutes and IU's leading scorer didn't return until the 8:37 mark. \nAfter the game Killingsworth declined comment and Davis said he sat the big man because of back spasms. The Auburn transfer never appeared to take a hard fall, and finished the game on the floor.\nVaden, however, did comment on what message he felt Davis sent to Killingsworth.\n"That he needs to play harder," Vaden said. "He needs to play defense. He needs to make all the cuts on offense. That's a lot of the stuff he talked about in the locker room, so hopefully it got to him."\nIU managed to show some resilience in the final period despite trailing by as many as 17. With the primary offensive weapon on the bench, IU began pressing Iowa and cut the lead to less than 10 points. Junior Earl Calloway hit two threes and junior Errek Suhr added another to pace the Hoosier comeback, but it wouldn't be enough. \nAfter an offensive rebound, Iowa's Jeff Horner sank a 3-pointer with 6:52 remaining that pushed the lead back to double digits and began sending fans to the exits. \nJust 36 seconds later Davis received a technical foul and an official review nullified a Vaden three because of a shot clock violation. For all intents and purposes, the game was lost.\n"I'd rather not say (why the technical was called)," Davis said. "But I can say one thing: I did not curse or say anything disrespectful to him."\nThe Hoosiers interjected a little late-game excitement by getting hot from behind the arc, but IU's 18 second half fouls kept the Hawkeyes at the free-throw line where they shot 77 percent for the game. \n"When you foul 26 times, they're going to call 26 fouls," Davis said. \nVaden proved himself more at home on the road when it comes to conference play, scoring a game-high 26 points with a school record tying eight 3-pointers (Iowa coach and IU alumnus Steve Alford is one of the other record-holders). The Indianapolis native now has a combined 46 points and 12 threes in IU's two conference road games, compared to 34 points and six threes in four home games. \nThe normally assist-prone Hoosier offense only mustered 11 assists on 22 field goals Tuesday. Only to complicate matters further, IU turned the ball over 15 times resulting in 12 Hawkeye points.\n"A lack of focus from the beginning will kill you in any game," senior Sean Kline said. "It should be a collective team effort the entire game. There should never be a lapse. That's when you win ball games, when you play an entire 40 minutes"