Hawkeyes Cruise to 2-0

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By JAMES ALLAN
hawkeyesports.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Freshman Luka Garza’s first career double-double propelled the University of Iowa men’s basketball team to a 92-58 victory over Alabama State in a Cayman Islands Classic preliminary game on Sunday afternoon on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
 
Garza was one of five Hawkeyes to reach double figures in the game and one of 12 players to score.  The forward made 2-of-8 field goals, but went 7-of-11 from the free throw stripe. He also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds in 19 minutes.
 
Sophomore Cordell Pemsl paced the team with 15 points, making 6-of-9 field goals.  Sophomore Isaiah Moss finished with 12 points, sophomore Maishe Dailey had 11 points, and sophomore Tyler Cook had 10 points and six rebounds in 16 minutes.
 
The Hawkeyes shot 47.1 percent from the floor and made 11-of-29 3-pointers.  Iowa attempted 33 free throws, but made just 17 to shoot 51.5 percent.
 
Iowa held Alabama State to 10 field goals on 29.4 percent shooting in the first half and 37.5 percent for the game.  The Hawkeyes dominated on the glass, 53-38, and scored 33 points off 17 Hornet turnovers.
 
The Hawkeyes got off to a slow start, leading just 13-11 over the first five minutes before taking control. Iowa’s second unit sparked an 18-0 run and the team led 42-16 lead with 4:14 left, a stretch where it limited the Hornets to 1-of-16 shooting. The Hawkeyes led 47-22 at the break.
 
Iowa pushed its lead to 30 (58-28) on a Garza layup 3 1/2 minutes into the second half and the advantage swelled to as many as 42 points three times — the first coming on a Dailey 3-pointer at the 11:12 mark.
 
QUOTING IOWA HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY
“We were better defensively tonight than we were in the first game. We were better connected. I felt we pushed it better and we wanted to run more. I thought our running game was just OK, but it was better tonight.”
 
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Ten different Hawkeyes scored in a 47-point first half with five players scoring five or more points.  Iowa shot 45.2 percent and the team made five 3-pointers. Iowa went 14-of-23 from the free throw line. 
 
“Sometimes it will be our inside guys and sometimes it will be our 3-point shooters,” said McCaffery. “Bohannon only had five, but he was really good.”
 
KEY STAT
Iowa had a 49-4 advantage in bench points with Pemsl leading the team with 15 points in a team-best 24 minutes.  Dailey made 4-of-10 field goals, including two 3-pointers, and had three assists in 20 minutes. 
 
NOTABLES

• The Hawkeyes had 22 offense rebounds, which led to 27 second-chance points.
• Iowa led for all but 48 seconds in the game.
• The Hawkeyes assisted on 25 of its 32 field goals and had only nine turnovers. Four players had four or more assists, including a game-high six by sophomore Jordan Bohannon.
• Junior Ahmad Wagner had five points and seven rebounds in 13 minutes.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Thursday, hosting Grambling State at 7:05 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court.  Tickets are available at hawkeyesports.com