IOWA CITY, Iowa, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Luke Recker and Reggie Evans scored 14 points apiece Friday night as the 13th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes rallied for a 73-64 victory over Alabama State to advance to the championship in the Hawkeye Challenge.
Iowa (5-2) will face Southern Methodist in Saturday's title game.
Alabama State entered the game at 1-4, but returned four starters from a team picked to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Hornets fell to Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
One of those starters, Keith Gamble, got off to a hot start and hit a 3-pointer for a 20-11 lead 11:08 before halftime. Gamble scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half as Alabama State built a 37-30 lead at intermission.
Iowa took control with a 9-0 run for a 55-50 lead with 10:20 remaining. The Hawkeyes took their first lead at 52-50 on a basket by Chauncey Leslie, and Glen Worley capped the spurt with a three-pointer.
A basket by Recker gave the Hawkeyes their largest lead at 73-60 with 2:22 to play.
Alvin Pettway had 18 points for the Hornets, who will face LaSalle in Saturday's consolation game.
