Iowa Cruises to Exhibition Victory

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By JAMES ALLAN
hawkeyesports.com
 
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Joe Wieskamp and Luka Garza outscored Lindsey Wilson College by themselves in the first half, leading the University of Iowa men’s basketball team to a 96-58 rout Monday night on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
 
The Hawkeyes stormed out to a 17-5 lead and scored 27 points before the Blue Raiders reached double figures.  Iowa led 53-26 at halftime after shooting 64.3 percent from the field.
 
Iowa shot 55.7 percent for the game and made 12 3-pointers.  Five Hawkeyes reached double figures and 11 players scored.  Defensively, Iowa limited Lindsey Wilson to 34.8 percent shooting and forced 16 turnovers.
 
Wieskamp led Iowa with 19 points, making 6-of-8 field goals and three 3-pointers.  Redshirt freshman CJ Fredrick scored 18 points on the strength of four 3s and Garza added 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
 
Redshirt freshman Patrick McCaffery finished with 12 points, and redshirt sophomore Jack Nunge added 11.  Redshirt sophomore Connor McCaffery had 11 assists of Iowa’s 26 assists, while freshman Joe Toussiant had a team-high seven rebounds.
 
CJ STARTS, PRODUCES
Fredrick was efficient and productive, scoring 18 points on seven field goal attempts.  Fredrick connected on consecutive 3-pointers to start off the night and he made 6-of-7 attempts for the game.
 
“When I saw the first one go in, I felt good then Jack found me on a little curl in transition and that went in back-to-back,” said Fredrick. “I never really try to rush shots, I feel like I take good shots, everything within the offense.  I was happy with the way I played today, but I’m moving on to Friday now.”
 
JBO APPEARS
Senior Jordan Bohannon entered to a well-deserved ovation when he took Mediacom Court at the 13:57 mark of the first half.  The guard, who had offseason hip surgery, played 11 minutes off the bench in the first half, making the only shot he attempted.  Bohannon finished with three points on 1-of-3 shooting in 15 minutes.
 
“It felt good,” said Bohannon.  “I made sure I got warmed up and stayed on the bike.  When we had the scrimmage against Illinois State, I stayed on the bench and wasn’t warmed up. I didn’t play up to how I wanted, so I made sure to stay on the bike.”
 
Bohannon made his first field goal attempt — a 3-pointer from the right wing — giving Iowa a 31-10 lead.
 
“I got goosebumps after I shot it,” said Bohannon. “It has been a long process the last five, six months. It has been a grind for me to try to get back to this position and back into the lineup to help this team.  Emotionally and physically, it is the most I have had to deal with the last five months.   To be able to hit that first shot was emotional.”
 
STAT OF THE GAME
Fran McCaffery talked about the unselfishness of the Hawkeyes leading in to Monday’s exhibition game.  He was right; Iowa assisted on 26 of its 34 field goals with 11 different players tallying at least one assist.
 
“Guys are sharing the ball, this team is very unselfish,” said Wieskamp. “If someone is more open than you, the ball is going to go to them.  That’s our team mindset and I think that is going to happen all season long.”
 
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes open the regular season Friday, hosting SIU Edwardsville at 8 p.m. (CT).  Tickets are available at hawkeysports.com/tickets.
 

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