Nov. 1, 2007
IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa blocked 10 shots, compiled nine steals and limited Simpson College to 18.5 percent shooting from the field (10 of 54) during a 56-30 exhibition men’s basketball victory Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa senior Justin Johnson scored a game-high 16 points with three, three-point field goals and freshman Jake Kelly added 10 points. Kelly was 2-for-2 from three-point range and sank all four free throw attempts. Contributing to the blocked shot parade for the Hawkeyes were senior Kurt Looby and junior Cyrus Tate with three apiece, Johnson with two, and senior Seth Gorney and junior J.R. Angle both with one.
“They did a nice job making it really hard for our guys on the offensive end,” Simpson Head Coach Bruce Wilson said. “They’re going to be a good team. The stuff that Todd runs is very difficult to defend.”
Iowa led 25-17 at halftime and held an 18-point advantage (31-13) over the final 20 minutes. The Hawkeyes pulled down 46 rebounds, led by Gorney with seven. Looby, Angle and Kelly had six apiece.
“Through the course of the game our players made good adjustments,” Iowa Head Coach Todd Lickliter said. “Obviously there are areas for growth, but it’s November 1 and it’s a start. We have to play next Friday for real, so we have to get a few of these things worked out.”
Areas of concern for Iowa were committing 20 turnovers and allowing Simpsons to grab 17 offensive rebounds. The Hawkeyes made 9 of 18 field goals in the second half to finish the game with a shooting percentage of 40.4 (19 of 47).
“I knew I shouldn’t have assigned (assistant coach Joel) Cornette as the shooting coach,” Lickliter joked.
All 11 Iowa players saw at least eight minutes of playing time. Johnson and freshman Jeff Peterson both logged a team-high 31 minutes. Looby dished off four assists as the Hawkeyes held a 14-2 edge over the Storm in that category.
Simpson, a Division III school from the Iowa Conference, was led in scoring by Tim Dunlavy with eight points and Dave Johnson with six. The Storm was 1 of 18 from three-point range.
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