Notre Dame Beats Iowa, 68-62
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — V.J. Beachem is settling in nicely as a starter at Notre Dame.
Beachem scored 16 points, Demetrius Jackson had 12 and No. 17 Notre Dame beat Iowa, 68-62, in the consolation round of the AdvoCare Invitational on Friday night.
"He has answered the bell down here both nights," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "I just think he's really confident. He's defending, he's rebounding, he's making big shots. He really feels like he belongs as a starter."
Beachem had 14 points and nine rebounds in Thursday night's 70-68 loss to Monmouth.
Bonzie Colson had a pair of layups and Jackson added a third as Notre Dame (4-1) used a 9-2 stretch for a 63-55 lead against the Hawkeyes.
Jarrod Uthoff had 20 points for Iowa (3-2).
Peter Jok and Anthony Clemmons had long-range jumpers during a 16-0 run that lifted Iowa to a 47-46 lead midway through the second half.
"We get some stops, we get some momentum," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "We fought hard enough, but didn't close it out."
Jackson stopped Notre Dame's scoring drought with a jumper that gave the Fighting Irish a 48-47 advantage with 9 1/2 minutes remaining.
"We're trying to figure out who we are," Brey said. "Bounce back against an Iowa team, that's a good night for this group."
After Notre Dame took a five-point lead, Adam Woodbury's in-close basket and two free throws by Uthoff got Iowa within one with 4 minutes to go.
Woodbury had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Beachem had a 3 and Jackson made a jumper to help extend a 12-point halftime advantage to 46-31 4 minutes into the second half.
Beachem had 11 points as Notre Dame rallied from an early seven-point deficit to take a 39-27 halftime lead.
Uthoff scored 10 for the Hawkeyes, who shot 33.3 percent (11 for 33) during the opening half.
Notre Dame's Zach Auguste was held to four points. He also had 11 rebounds.
TIP-INS
Iowa: McCaffery remains one away from 100 with the school. ... McCaffery was a Notre Dame assistant coach from 1988-99. ... The Hawkeyes lost their invitational opener Thursday 82-77 to Dayton.
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish earned their 1,799th win.
UP NEXT
Iowa: The Hawkeyes will try to avoid losing all three games at the invitational in the seventh-place game against No. 20 Wichita State on Sunday.
"When you're really good, you're close to struggling," McCaffery said. "When you're struggling, you're close to being really good. We played two really good teams right to the wire."
Notre Dame: Plays Alabama in Sunday's fifth-place game.
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