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ST. LOUIS-- Iowa shot 52.6 percent from three-point range as the Hawkeyes knocked off Saint Louis 60-50 tonight in a non-conference men's basketball game at Savvis Center. Hawkeye guards Adam Haluska and Jeff Horner drained 7-of-12 treys to help prevent a Billiken upset.

"They made shots and made some tough shots, and we didn't, that's pretty much the story of this game," said Billikens head coach Brad Soderberg. "We did a good job defending in our half court and we were solid rebounding the ball, which were two things that we were concerned about going into the game. Until we start to make some threes, our offense isn't going to be balanced."

The game was a rugged, physical defensive battle throughout. Saint Louis built a 12-4 lead as freshman guard Tommie Liddell made his first three shots, and SLU made seven of its first 11 attempts. But the Hawks started knocking down long-range jumpers and zipped to a 29-23 lead at the 3:26 mark. SLU had an uncommonly off night at the free throw line, shooting just 60 percent from the stripe. The Bills were trailing 31-28 when Liddell missed a pair of tosses, and the Iowa closed the half with a Greg Brunner lay-in and a Mike Henderson triple to take a 36-28 lead to the break.

Saint Louis dug in defensively in the second half and held the Hawkeyes to 35 percent shooting in the second session, but Iowa always seemed to get a 3-ball just when it needed it On three separate occasions, Haluska came off a screen on the right wing and buried a trey while floating to his left. Trailing 51-46 with 6:17 to play after Liddell's dunk off a steal, the Bills got three straight stops, but couldn't convert at the offensive end. The back-breaker came on Horner's long trey with the shot clock running out to push Iowa on top 56-48 with 1:22 remaining.

SLU junior center Ian Vouyoukas had another dominant game, posting his fourth career double-double with 17 points and 12 boards. He threw down a thunderous tomahawk slam in the first half after faking a handoff on the right side and then rolling to the basket past Hawks center Erek Hansen. Liddell finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, and fellow freshman Kevin Lisch tossed in 10 points. The Bills shot 36 percent from the field and 15.4 percent (2-13) from the arc.

"Our freshmen (Liddell and Lisch) played well tonight, but Iowa's seniors (Haluska and Horner) were just a little bit better," Soderberg said. "And we all need to remember that they are freshmen, but they're going to be better for the experiences that they've had like tonight."

Haluska and Horner each had 17 points to tie Vouyoukas for game-high scoring honors. Forward Greg Brunner had eight rebounds. Iowa (11-3) shot 42.9 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from the line.

Saint Louis (6-6) opens Atlantic 10 Conference schedule and concludes its five-game homestand by hosting St. Bonaventure on Tue., Jan. 3, at 7 p.m.