Iowa City, Iowa - MSU had been in this situation before, letting a lead slip away in the second half on the road.

But this time, senior guard Tim Bograkos stepped to the free-throw line with a three-point lead over Iowa with more than a minute left.

With 15,500 Iowa fans screaming and Iowa on a 13-4 scoring run to control the momentum, Bograkos didn't worry about the pressure. He smiled.

He even directed teammates in preparation for the next possession before sinking both free throws, which helped the No. 12 Spartans (15-4 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) survive a tough game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 75-64.

"I was enjoying the moment - it's fun to be in the situation when everybody is kind of against you," Bograkos said. "It's just the five of you against 15,000 fans yelling at you."

But that wasn't the whole story. In 12 minutes of play, Iowa (15-6, 3-5) cut a 22-point deficit to three.

MSU senior swingman Alan Anderson and junior guard Maurice Ager both fouled out and sophomore guard Shannon Brown was benched with four fouls.

Someone had to step up.

Just to get to the free-throw line in those waning minutes, Bograkos had to step in the lane and take a charge on a slashing Iowa guard Jeff Horner.

"It was just sticking together and showing the heart that we do have," Bograkos said of the Spartans holding on.

After Bograkos hit his shots, senior guards Kelvin Torbert and Chris Hill both nailed their own free throws, putting the Hawkeyes out of reach for good.

The final minutes didn't mirror the loss to Wisconsin, where the Badgers scored the final 11 points to win 62-59.

MSU freshman guard Drew Neitzel even called it a stepping stone, not allowing Iowa to crawl back.

"We fought through some adversity and we played the game out and at the end, the seniors stepped up," he said.

For both teams, the battle scars from the past week were obvious as new goals were set midway through the conference season.

Iowa lost its leader days earlier when Iowa head coach Steve Alford dismissed guard Pierre Pierce from the team because of legal charges.

The Spartans had their Big Ten championship hopes seemingly taken away at the hands of No. 1 Illinois on Tuesday in a 81-68 loss.

"Maybe for MSU it was a good way to win the game," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "Iowa proved they were not gonna die and Michigan State had a game where at least they didn't crumble at the end."

And as the Hawkeyes searched for a new identity without their leading scorer, the struggle was apparent. Iowa shot 5-of-22 from the field in the first half and finished 28.8 percent for the game, only hitting 15 shots.

The Hawkeyes shot 13.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc, but 76.2 percent on 42 free throws helped keep Iowa close.

"Other than shooting, I thought our guys were really good tonight," Alford said of his team only having eight turnovers and staying close to MSU in total rebounds, 40-36.

MSU wasn't much better, either, shooting 34.6 percent from the field in the second half, including 0-7 from the 3-point arc, but finished 43.6 percent for the game.

Both teams had a difficult time trying to get into a rhythm. Fifty-five total points came at the charity stripe as the result of 48 called fouls.

"The game was called so close that the best players weren't on the court at crucial times for both teams," Izzo said.

For the Spartans, it was the first road win against Iowa since 2000, when MSU won the national championship.

MSU junior center Paul Davis had his sixth career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Anderson had 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Without Pierce, the Hawkeyes depended on forward Greg Brunner (16 points), Horner (13) and a career-high 24 points from guard Adam Haluska, to score 53 of 64 points.

"They have seniors coming off the bench, we just don't have that," Alford said.

The win allows MSU to take sole possession of second place in the Big Ten after Wisconsin lost on the road to Minnesota, 60-50.

MSU next plays Ohio State at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Breslin Center.

Source: Big Ten