Nov. 28, 2009
IOWA CITY, Iowa — A career-high 24-point effort by junior forward Jarryd Cole paced the University of Iowa men’s basketball team during a 73-63 victory over North Carolina Central on Saturday inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It is the second consecutive home victory for the Hawkeyes, who improved to 2-4 on the season.
Iowa shot 57.6 percent from the field in the second half (19 of 33) to pull away. The Hawkeyes made 28 of 56 field goals for the game (50 percent). North Carolina Central is 1-6 (0-6 on the road).
Cole converted 10 of 13 field goals and pulled down 10 rebounds in 30 minutes. Cole’s previous high for points in a game was 15 at Iowa State on Dec. 8, 2007.
“He did a good job. He was very patient,” UI head coach Todd Lickliter said. “Our guys passed the ball in well and we found him. Plus, he went to the glass hard.”
The Hawkeyes led by 15 points twice in the second half (47-32 with 12:47 left and 49-34 with 11:30 left). A made three-point field goal by Michael Glasker cut the lead to 59-53 with 5:16 remaining.
“We need to have more prosperity so we know how to handle it,” Lickliter said.
Iowa out-rebounded the Eagles 43-22 for the game with 15 offensive rebounds. Of the 28 Hawkeye field goals, 18 were assisted.
“The good news is that we had 18 assists,” Lickliter said. “The bad news was that we had 16 times (turnovers) that we didn’t have a chance. Fourteen of 18 (from the line) is really nice…15 offensive rebounds.”
UI sophomore Matt Gatens scored 16 points with seven rebounds and four assists and freshman point guard Cully Payne added 11 points and four assists.
Lickliter also noted that the Hawkeyes attacked the basket well when the Eagles extended their defense. Now he is trying to get his squad to simplify the game.
“We want to make it simple,” Lickliter said. “We need to make the game simpler. Making the easy plays makes it tough on your opponent.”
UI sophomore Anthony Tucker contributed eight rebounds and four assists; freshman Brennan Cougill scored nine points and pulled down nine rebounds and freshman Eric May scored nine points with four rebounds.
Iowa attained a 12-11 lead at the 10:18 mark of the first half on two successful free throws by Payne. The Hawkeyes, who came from six points down earlier in the half, never trailed after Payne’s free throws. Iowa built the advantage to nine points on three different times during the first 20 minutes; the half ended with the Hawkeyes holding a 30-21 edge.
Iowa prospered at the free throw line in the first half, making 11 of 13, compared to a 1 of 11 effort from behind the three-point line. The Hawkeyes made 9 of 23 field goals in the first half (39.1 percent) and seven of those were assisted. Iowa grabbed 22 rebounds to 12 by North Carolina Central.
Cole made 3 of 4 field goals and 4 of 4 free throws to lead all players with 10 points at the break. He also had four rebounds. Gatens and May also had four rebounds.
The Hawkeyes return to the Carver-Hawkeye Arena court Tuesday, Dec. 1, against Virginia Tech with an 8:35 p.m. start. The contest will be televised by ESPN2 as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.