Hawk Talk Monthly — February 2018 | Fight For Iowa | Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Box Score (PDF) | Boxscore
By JAMES ALLAN
hawkeyesports.com
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State shot 54.7 percent from the field to hand the University of Iowa men’s basketball team an 82-58 defeat Saturday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions scored 50 of their 82 points in the paint to complete the season sweep of the Hawkeyes. Iowa falls to 12-13 overall and 3-9 in Big Ten action.
Iowa shot 38.2 percent, making 21-of-55 field goals, but it made a season-low one 3-point field goal in 10 attempts and that came in the first minute of the game.
Sophomore Tyler Cook paced the Hawkeyes with 19 points, making 8-of-12 field goals, and freshman Luka Garza added 13. Sophomore Jordan Bohannon, who was under-the-weather, finished with three points in a season-low 24 minutes.
Iowa battled over the first 6 1/2 minutes, playing to a 14-all tie before the Nittany Lions reeled off nine unanswered points to build a 23-14 lead with 10:23 to play in the half.
“We started the game OK,” said Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery. “They made a run at us, and I didn’t think we responded the way we needed to.
“Sometimes we have the tendency to go more 1-on-1 in those situations, which doesn’t work for us. We have to move it, especially with Bohannon struggling. He was sick and tried to go.”
Layups from Maishe Dailey and Cordell Pemsl pulled Iowa to within five before Penn State took control, outscoring the Hawkeyes, 22-8, heading into the locker room to build a 47-28 lead.
The Nittany Lions shot 58.8 percent in the first half.
The Hawkeyes closed the gap to within 14 points (51-37), but never really threatened in the second half. Penn State shot 50 percent in the second half and finished with 10 dunks in the game.
“The start of the second half we were good defensively, getting consecutive stops, but we go 2-for-13 in that stretch,” said McCaffery. “We had some good looks at it. They are a team that challenges you at the rim well and that affected some of our shots.”
Four Penn State players finished In double figures with Mike Watkins leading the team with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He made 9 of his 10 field goal attempts in the contest.
OF NOTE…
- Penn State out-rebounded Iowa, 37-30, in the game and had an 11-2 advantage in fast-break points.
- Iowa’s previous season-low in 3-point field goals was three in the neutral site victory over Colorado.
UP NEXT
Iowa returns to action Tuesday, hosting No. 5 Michigan State at 8 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court.
