We were in position we could win either way. That was a real

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Brady Ellingson hopes this early scoring outburst cements his role as Iowas sharpshooter off bench.Ellingson scored 21 of his career-high 23 points in the first half, Cordell Pemsl added 18 points and nine rebounds and Iowa breezed to a 116-84 win over Savannah State on Sunday.The Hawkeyes (2-0) made a school-record 18 3-pointers and led by at least 20 points the entire second half. Iowas 116 points are the most in Fran McCafferys six seasons as coach and tied for the seventh most in program history.Ellingson hit 4 of 6 3-pointers -- a much-needed confidence boost after a rough start to his college career. The sophomore guard battled a foot injury during a redshirt season two years ago and was in and out of the rotation last season because of inconsistent play.(My confidence) was really high, Ellingson said. I was really open, so I got to set my feet.Troyce Manassa had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Savannah State (0-2), which committed 20 turnovers.Tyler Cook scored 14 points and Peter Jok had 13 for the Hawkeyes. Nicholas Baer added nine points and a career-best six assists. Iowas bench scored 76 points -- led by Ellingson.The Hawkeyes were out-rebounded in the first half, but came back to edge the Tigers 52-40 on the boards.Iowa has won 39 of its last 40 non-conference home games.BIG PICTUREIowa: Pemsl wasnt the most prolific recruit in McCafferys freshman class, but hes clearly going to be a factor off the bench for Iowa. At 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds, Pemsl is strong, but he has a great handle around the rim. Pemsl made all seven of his field goal tries and converted four and-one opportunities.Hes just a really skilled big man, McCaffery said. He has an innate ability to make a decision in traffic.Savannah State: The Tigers have allowed 113 and 116 points in their first two games. They mixed up man and zone defenses against Iowa -- neither were very effective. Savannah State had the best scoring defense in the MEAC last season, but it lost four starters from that team.STAR WATCHJok never got into a shooting rhythm against the Tigers, finishing 5 of 15 from the floor. The senior made only one of his first six shot attempts.This was two days after Jok scored 27 points against Kennesaw State -- the most by a Hawkeye in a season opener since Adam Haulskas 29 against The Citadel in 2006. Joks 27 points was also the most by a Big Ten player among Fridays games.HE SAID ITWe would have preferred a little more of a mixture of penetration, but we have good 3-point shooters, McCaffery said. And we were open.The Hawkeyes attempted a school-record 43 3-pointers. Iowa made just 7 of 22 3s in Fridays opener.UP NEXTIowa faces its first real challenge of the season on Thursday against Seton Hall (2-0) as part of the Big Ten- Big East series.Savannah State plays Middle Georgia State in its home opener on Thursday before another tough test at Memphis next weekend. Miles Boykin Womens Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Justice Hill Ravens Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.cheapravensshoponline.com/Youth-Ray-Lewis-Ravens-Jersey/ . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Ray Lewis Womens Jersey . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Trace McSorley Ravens Jersey . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. FORT WORTH, Texas -- Carl Edwards left Phoenix International Raceway nearly a year ago drenching wet and in bewilderment.He so badly wanted to get the race restarted when the rain fell in the desert, but NASCAR had no choice after the rare deluge. The race was over and Edwards wound up eliminated from Chase contention.His championship hopes ruined by a storm, he would have waited all night just for that chance to earn the five spots he needed to prove he deserved to make it to Homestead with a shot at the title.But he wont head to Phoenix next week with the memory of anger or disappointment that rain came at an inopportune time.Instead, he will go to Arizona with the memory of another rainstorm -- the one on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Leading with 41 laps left in the scheduled 334-lap AAA 500, Edwards celebrated when NASCAR determined it would take at least two hours to dry the track and therefore called the race official. (It took more than five hours for the track to dry from rain that forced the race to go green six hours late.)Once Edwards knew he was the winner, he broke into a huge smile, and the team roared with cheers.This rain was a lot more welcome than that rain [at Phoenix], Edwards said. That was very frustrating. But thats the way this sport goes. Its close.We have amazing competitors. They make it tough.With the win, Edwards advanced to be among the four drivers eligible for the championship in two weeks at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He will join Jimmie Johnson and two other drivers --?Joey Logano and Kyle Busch have a 1-point lead on Matt Kenseth and two points on Denny Hamlin. Phoenix powerhouse Kevin Harvick likely needs a drop-the-mic moment with a win while sitting 18 points behind. Kurt Busch at 34 points back is in the worst shape of the bunch for a shot to win the title.Anything short of a championship will be a disappointment, Edwards said. Weve got a championship-caliber team, parts, people and pit crew. We need to be able to go do it.Ironically, a crash at Martinsville a week earlier put Edwards in a virtual must-win situation at Texas or Phoenix. The benefit of that crash? Edwards knew he had to stay out when the rains started to fall at Texas and not give up the lead to another driver hoping to steal the win. He needed to roll the dice and hope that the rain would be hard enough to end the race. The easy choice endedd up as the right choice.ddddddddddddWhen things go bad, sometimes it makes it really simple, Edwards said. As soon as we had that trouble at Martinsville, the first thing we all said was, Hey, weve got to go win Texas. Thats what we have to do.You always wonder in this sport if you can step it up or do something better -- and I feel like everyone did this weekend. We actually were able to do that. Now we get the opportunity to go do the same thing at Homestead.Edwards entered Texas with confidence. He had led 124 laps back in the spring, but a pit road miscue in which Edwards had to pit under green for a loose lug nut resulted in a seventh-place finish. His pit crew came through, however, when it mattered most at Texas, putting him in the lead on Sunday with a fast pit stop on Lap 258. He never relinquished the lead.So maybe in this year when curses end in sports, Edwards will feel less cursed, especially by rain or pit crew flubs.I guess its vindication of some sort, crew chief Dave Rogers said. You always play the game as hard as you can. The past is the past. Its not really a reflection of tomorrow. We didnt think of any of that.They didnt have time to think about it. They were just too busy trying to execute so they wouldnt face a must-win situation in an elimination race next week in Phoenix.We didnt just win because of the rain, Edwards said. We were in position we could win either way. That was a real testament ... to having a great race car.Edwards has had great race cars and not gone home with the trophy. He needs one more great race car for Homestead. He has 28 career wins, but he seeks his first Cup title with the memory stuck in his mind of the 2011 championship and finishing second to Tony Stewart on a tiebreaker after Stewart and Edwards finished 1-2 in the finale at Homestead.One of the first things my dad told me about racing is he said, There is a thousand ways to lose a race, Edwards said. None of those thousand things can happen. You have to have everything go well.Those disappointments, like Martinsville [last week] or Phoenix last year or 2011 and that battle -- thats just part of the sport. Thats what makes victories and days like this and championships so special. You have to do everything right. ' ' '