IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Pierre Pierce made sure a feisty opponent

didn't ruin everything the Iowa Hawkeyes have accomplished so far.

Pierce scored 24 points and led a late 10-0 run that enabled Iowa (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today; No. 16 AP) to finally pull away from surprisingly stubborn Saint Louis

for a 67-58 victory Friday night.

Adam Haluska added 13 points and Jeff Horner had 12 for the

Hawkeyes (12-1), who had been hoping for a breezy tuneup for

Wednesday night's Big Ten opener against Michigan. Instead, they

played their worst first half of the season and had to dig

themselves out of a hole against a team that was missing two

starters from a lineup that wasn't especially potent to begin with.

"A loss tonight would have really spoiled our nonconference

season," Pierce said. "That would have really put a damper on

what we've done. Fortunately, our team pulled together and picked

it up in the second half."

For much of the game, the Billikens (2-10) outhustled Iowa on

the boards, controlled the tempo and took advantage of numerous

offensive lapses by the Hawkeyes. As a result, Saint Louis led

39-34 after two straight baskets by Justin Johnson less than 4

minutes into the second half.

A 12-2 run that included 3-pointers by Pierce and Haluska pulled

Iowa ahead to stay, but the Hawkeyes couldn't put the Billikens

away for good until the final 5½ minutes.

"That's the first team that I felt just flat outworked us for a

20-minute frame," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "Teams have

beaten us this year, but as far as outworking us, that hasn't

happened very often.

"That was the challenge at halftime. I thought after that, it

was more like what we've been doing all year."

Iowa shot 56 percent in the second half and outrebounded the

Billikens by two after Saint Louis built a 20-10 edge on the boards

in the opening 20 minutes.

Still, with less than 6 minutes to play, Iowa led just 52-51.

Horner then hit a 3-pointer from the left corner and that seemed to

ignite the Hawkeyes. Pierce scored the next six points on two

layups and a jumper, and Haluska followed with a free throw to make

it 62-51 with 2:53 to play, enough of a cushion to hang on.

"They didn't play like a 2-9 team," Pierce said. "They played

very hard and very physical. We were able to match that in the

second half and pull away."

Izik Ohanon led Saint Louis with 15 points and Anthony Drejaj

scored 14. The Billikens, coming off a 16-point home loss to

Southeast Missouri State, played without leading scorer Reggie

Bryant (eye infection) and starting center Tom Frericks

(concussion).

Greg Brunner had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Iowa.

"It just hurts so bad to be 2-10. It's miserable," Saint Louis

coach Brad Soderberg said. "And yet, we got embarrassed on

Wednesday night against an in-state team and to the credit of the

players, they came back the next day with only one day to prepare

for Iowa and they had to their heads on right.

"We played well. But I also think it was hard for Steve to get

his kids up to play us, to play a team that's 2-9 right before they

start their conference season."

Pierce was the only Iowa player consistent throughout. He

finished 11-for-18 from the field and made some tough shots with

defenders in his face.

"That's just a great athlete," Soderberg said. "He's got

Kobe-esque moves sometimes. That's just a better athlete going over

a lesser athlete."