IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team flew past Truman State, 118-72, in an exhibition contest Monday night. 13 out of 15 players on the Iowa roster competed in Iowa’s lone exhibition this season.The Hawkeyes went back-and-forth with Truman State in the first half, with the Bulldogs briefly seizing a one-point lead at the ten-minute mark. Iowa then immediately fired off a 32-8 scoring run over the next seven minutes, sparked by three triples from graduate student Connor McCaffery during the run.
McCaffery finished the first half with four three-pointers as Iowa cruised to a 63-39 halftime lead.
The Hawkeyes dominated the final 20 minutes, finishing the game 46-71 (65%) from the field and 14-25 (56%) from 3-point range with 27 points off turnovers and 58 points in the paint.
Junior Kris Murray was the game’s leading scorer with 24 points on 9-14 (64%) shooting from the field. Murray added a game-high seven rebounds, one block and a steal with a +/- of 30 in 24 minutes of action.
Junior Tony Perkins was next for Iowa, drilling 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including a pair of treys. Perkins recorded five rebounds, four assists and three steals starting for the Hawkeyes at point guard.
McCaffery finished the game shooting 4-of-5 from behind the arc, dishing out 12 of Iowa’s 39 points off the bench. Sophomore Peyton Sandfort and Filip Rebraca rounded out the group of five Hawkeyes scoring double figures with 14 points, apiece; Rebraca pulled in six rebounds and dished out three blocks against the Bulldogs.
The Hawkeyes won the battle on the boards, 37-29.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY
“You watch [Tony Perkins], he gets to the rim, he pushes it hard, he puts pressure on the ball. He always gives it up. He played a little bit at both spots [point guard and shooting guard] in high school. Peyton [Sandfort] is playing really well, you get to play him. We have got a lot of ways we can go. Dasonte [Bowen] played off point today, he can play off ball, as well. Josh [Dix] can play with the ball, without the ball. He can play small forward. So, we’ve got a lot of ways we can go…
[Filip Rebraca] has been like that since June. It’s great to see. I mean, that’s what he did at North Dakota. That is what he has the greenlight to do, and we want him to do that. So, not only did he score the ball, but he rebounded it. He defends. We were in the bonus at the 11-minute mark, and he had a lot to do with that.”
HAWKEYE NOTABLES
- Forward Kris Murray posted game bests in points (24) and rebounds (7).
- Tony Perkins and Connor McCaffery combined for 30 points on 11-of-13 field goal shooting, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range.
- True freshman Dasonte Bowen was credited with a game-best eight assists.
- Iowa shot 56 percent from 3-point territory tonight (14-of-25).
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes open the 2022-23 regular season on Monday, Nov. 7, against Bethune-Cookman. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.