IOWA CITY, Iowa – Sophomore Keegan Murray scored 20 points for the eighth time in 11 outings on Tuesday night as the University of Iowa men’s basketball team dominated Southeastern Louisiana, 93-62, on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Redshirt sophomore Patrick McCaffery and freshman Payton Sandfort led the Hawkeyes in the first half with 10 points apiece, combining for four of Iowa’s six 3-pointers to take a 44-30 advantage into halftime.
Murray would pile on 15 points in the second half as Iowa improved to 9-3. He finished the game with his second double-double of the season on a game-best 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Twelve Hawkeyes scored in the 31-point victory. Patrick McCaffery was Iowa’s next-leading scorer, putting up 16 points along with three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Sixth-year senior Jordan Bohannon scored 13 points, including four 3-pointers, while Sandfort finished the game with 10 points, including two from behind the 3-point arc.
Bohannon’s four treys led the Hawkeyes, who finished with 11 3-pointers. Senior Filip Rebraca totaled nine rebounds and redshirt senior Connor McCaffery grabbed eight off the glass as Iowa won the battle on the boards, 50-32.
The Hawkeyes finished with seven steals and three blocks for 19 points off turnovers. Iowa dominated down low with 42 points in the paint and also posted 30 fast break points.
QUOTING COACH MCCAFFERY
“We had 11 three in a row (stops). Anytime you have that you’re pleased. We outrebounded them, and they only had 4 offensives. We did have some breakdowns, but I think we had a lot of good performances from a lot of different people. I didn’t like the end of the first half. They went to 20 from 14, but we took care of business at the start of the second half…
I thought we did a great job looking for Keegan [Murray]. I think Connor [McCaffery] does a great job with that. He waits and waits and lets it develop and finds Keegan, finds Chris [Murray], finds Filip [Rebraca], or our shooters.”
The nation’s leading scorer, Keegan Murray, posted the second double-double of the season (20 points, 10 rebounds). Murray, who recorded his eighth 20-point effort of the season, netted 15 of his 20 points in the second half.
Notables
- Freshman Payton Sandfort reached double figures for the third time this season, scoring all 10 of his points in the first half.
- Jordan Bohannon drained four 3-pointers raising his career total to 394, six shy of 400.
- Iowa made double-digit 3-pointers for the fifth time this season, sinking 11 triples tonight.
- Iowa improved to 2-0 all-time against Southeastern Louisiana.
UP NEXT
Iowa returns to action Dec. 29, hosting Western Illinois at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase at hawkeyesports.com/tickets.