ST. THOMAS - Baskets were rare while fouls and turnovers were as abundant as the palm trees on this tropical island.

 So it was completely appropriate for the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team to defeat Iona Friday night on the ugliest shot of the game.

 Trevon Hughes threw up a prayer in traffic while losing his balance and it hit nothing but net with the shot clock buzzer going off, propelling the 25th-ranked Badgers to a 60-58 overtime victory over the Gaels in an extremely physical first-round Paradise Jam tournament game.

 ``That gave us a little spark,'' understated UW coach Bo Ryan after the Badgers (3-0) withstood one last flurry by the Gaels (1-1) to move into a second-round tournament game against  San Diego at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports & Fitness Center here.

 The Badgers (3-0) won despite shooting just 31.3 percent overall (15 of 48) and 23.8 percent from 3-point range (5 of 21). Junior guards Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon had 21 and 13 points respectively for the Badgers, who earned the win by going to the foul line 34 times.

 Jonathan Huffman had 15 points for the Gaels, who had their last chance to win the game in overtime end in a turnover as UW senior forward Marcus Landry poked the ball away in the final seconds of overtime.

 ``That was a knock-em down, drag-em out, bring the next guy in (game),'' said Ryan of the physical battle that also led to them committing 19 turnovers against just 7 assists.

 Hughes and the Badgers looked comfortable attacking the Gaels' zone defense early in the game and used a 10-1 run to open a 19-8 lead following two Hughes free throws with 10:03 left in the first half. Hughes had 12 of those 19 points.

 But Landry and Hughes both went to the bench after they picked up two quick fouls and the Badgers had to withstand a late first-half flurry by the Gaels.

 After grabbing a 22-12 lead following two Jason Bohannon free throws with 5:49 left in the half, the Badgers watched the Gaels make 4 of their last 7 shots and close to 28-23 at the break.

 The start of the second half was a disaster for the Badgers. They missed their first nine shots, Landry went to the bench with his third foul, Ryan got whistled for a technical and the Gaels completed a 14-1 run that started in the first half and took a 35-29 lead following a Gary Springer bucket with 12:58 to go.

 Ryan liked how the Badgers kept their poise as they struggled. ``They didn't get scatterbrained,'' he said. ``They made good decisions.''

 Bohannon finally scored the Badgers' first field goal of the half on a shot from the paint with 12:28 to go. There was a ray of hope for the Badgers after Joe Krabbenhoft followed with a drive to the basket for a layup and Hughes added two free throws to tie the score at 35-35 with 9:59 to go.

 Neither team got control of the game the rest of the way. Springer made it 52-50 with a bucket with 1:08 left, but Landry tipped in his own miss to tie the score with 46.6 seconds left. The Badgers then withstood two shots by the Gaels in the final seconds that bounced off the rim.

 In overtime, Hughes' circus-like shot gave the Badgers a 58-55 lead with 58 seconds left. Bohannon hit two free throws to make it 60-55 with 31.6 seconds left.

 But the Gaels made a game of it when Eddie Rios had a three-point play with 24.4 seconds left to make it 60-58. A Krabbenhoft turnover and two missed free throws by Bohannon with 7 seconds left gave the Gaels a chance to tie or win the game with the last possession.

 They never got the shot off because of Landry's defensive play. ``What can you say,'' said Ryan, ``that was a great play.''

 It might have been an ugly game, but  Ryan called it a great win, ``because you found a way.''