Cats edge Iowa, stay in hunt for first NCAA bid

IOWA CITY—Drew Crawford scored 18 points as Northwestern beat Iowa 70-66 on Saturday, boosting the Wildcats’ hopes for their first NCAA tournament bid.Iowa’s Josh Oglesby missed a 3-pointer from the wing with 4 seconds left that would have given the Hawkeyes the lead.Northwestern (18-12, 8-10 Big Ten) needed this win after losing two of its last three games. The Wildcats overcame an early 15-point deficit and held on in their last game before the Big Ten tournament.Alex Marcotullio’s two free throws with 2 seconds left sealed the win for Northwestern.Senior Matt Gatens scored 17 points to lead Iowa (16-15, 8-10).You can say NU really won the game with a 17-0 run late in the first half to lead 42-35 at halftime. Iowa failed to hit a field goal in the last seven minutes of the half. The Hawkeyes shot 53 percent in the first half, but committed 13 turnovers.