St. Louis U. nearly ended 2004 with a major upset, but came up just short in a 67-58 loss to No. 16 Iowa. The Billikens led the Hawkeyes 29-27 at the half last night, and led by as many as five points in the second half. With just seven minutes left, the Billikens trailed by just one point at 52-51. But Iowa used a late 9-0 run to pull away. Four players finished in double figures for Iowa. Pierre Pierce led the way with 24 points. Izik Ohanon led SLU with 15 points. Anthony Drejaj added 14. The Billikens fall to 2-10.