Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Fight For Iowa | Hawk Talk Monthly — December | Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery | Boxscore
By JAMES ALLAN
hawkeyesports.com
AMES, Iowa — Iowa State rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to hand the University of Iowa men’s basketball team an 84-78 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series defeat Thursday night at Hilton Coliseum.
The Hawkeyes (4-6) made 11 3-pointers and shot 44.6 percent from the field, but the team committed 18 turnovers. Twelve of the mistakes came in the second half; Iowa State had a 28-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
“The effort was there, the execution wasn’t at times, but it was at times,” said Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery. “If you look at stats, we were 53-31 on the glass; you’re supposed to win. (We had) 12 turnovers in second half, 18 turnovers in the game, leading to 28 points, that’s why we lost.”
Iowa led 41-36 at the break after making seven first-half 3-pointers, including three by sophomore Jordan Bohannon. The Cyclones erased the deficit in the first four minutes of the second half and took a 49-47 lead on a Lindell Wigginton three-point play with 16:38 to play.
After three ties and four lead changes, Iowa State used a Terrence Lewis 3-pointer and a Cameron Lard dunk to go up six and the Cyclones methodically pushed their lead to 76-66 with 4:20 remaining.
Bohannon connected on a 3-pointer at the 4:09 mark to trim the deficit to seven and Cordell Pemsl’s layup cut the lead to 76-71 with 3:31 remaining. Following two Iowa State free throws, Bohannon made his fifth 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 78-74 with 2:31 to play.
Down 79-74 with 95 seconds left, Iowa had two 3-point looks from junior Brady Ellingson, but neither fell. After trading turnovers, Nunge spun and made a short hook shot to cut the deficit to 79-76, but Hans Brase iced the game with two free throws with 27 seconds to play and the Hawkeyes ran out of time.
“In the second half we never got into the type of rhythm that we needed to,” said McCaffery. “They were pressing up and were active defensively. When you are creating live ball turnovers with a team with this type of speed, it’s problematic.”
Three Hawkeyes finished in double figures with Bohannon leading the team with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Nunge had 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, while Pemsl finished with 10 points and eight boards.
Wigginton led all scorers with 24 points, while Nick Weiler-Babb had 15 points, 10 assists, and four steals.
NEW LOOK 5
Ellingson made his first career start in his 78th career game, replacing Luka Garza in the starting five. The Hawkeyes’ starting lineup was its fifth different lineup in the last six game.
CHUCKIN’ IT UP
The Hawkeyes made 10 or more 3-pointers for a second straight game and for the fourth time this season. The 11 3-pointers were the team’s second-most of the season. The 36 attempts were a season-high.
STAT OF THE GAME
Iowa State finished the game +14 at the free throw stripe. The Cyclones made 15-of-20 attempts in the game; the Hawkeyes were 1-of-8 with freshman Jack Nunge making the team’s only free throw. It was the third time in four games that Iowa has attempted 10 or fewer free throws.
NOTABLES
- Bohannon made 5-of-10 3-pointers — his second-most triples of the season.
- Iowa dominated the rebounding battle, 55-31. The Hawkeyes had 20 offensive rebounds, which led to 16 second-chance points.
- Iowa State had a 28-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
UP NEXT
After playing six of seven games away from home, Iowa returns to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to host Southern on Sunday at 4:01 p.m. (CT).
