Iowa Tops UMBC, 103-81

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated UMBC, 103-81, on Wednesday night on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes move to 7-5 on the season.

A 12-2 run late in the first half allowed the Hawkeyes to gain a 10-point advantage, knocking down 9-of-10 field goals. Iowa finished the half shooting 20-of-42 from the field with 15 assists and just one turnover. Iowa built an advantage on the glass early, grabbing 27 rebounds in the first half compared to UMBC’s 12.  At the end of the first half, Iowa led 50-36.

The Hawkeyes were able to pull away in the second half behind a balanced scoring attack. 10 different Hawkeyes scored points in the second half while they shot 22-of-42 from the field and knocked down four threes. Iowa finished the game with just four turnovers.

Senior Tony Perkins stuffed the stat sheet. In the first 20-minutes of action the Indianapolis, Indiana, native poured in 12 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out four assists. Perkins went on to finish the game as the leading scorer, finishing with 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Junior Payton Sandfort nearly had a double-double in the first half, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds. Sandfort finished the game scoring 18 points and pulling in 10 rebounds. It is Sandfort’s second double-double of the year.

Freshman Brock Harding finished the game with 10 points and 12 assists while committing just one turnover. It’s the first points and assists double-double since Joe Toussaint against Alabama State in 2021.  Harding now has an assist to turnover ratio of 2.9 on the season. Graduate Ben Krikke finished with 17 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting. Junior Patrick McCaffery rounded out the Hawkeyes in double-digits finishing the game with 14 points.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY

“I think it’s more who [Brock] is. He’s an incredible competitor and has a tremendous mind for the game. He truly understands what is needed at any given time. He knew we needed to get some stops, get some run outs, hit some cutters, get some layups, and get to the free throw line. We were in the double bonus pretty early because he was driving the ball. We were back cutting. He was finding people. You look down and see we had a bunch of guys in double figures, because of him.”

“We wanted to push it. We took 84 shots. That’s a lot of shots. We wanted to push it and attack. Like I said, I wish we would’ve guarded the 3-point line better. 13-for-25 is usually a recipe for defeat.”

Game Notables

• Iowa trailed 29-25 with 6:51 to go in the first half before outscoring the Retrievers, 25-7, to take a 50-36 lead into the locker room. The Hawkeyes made 12 of their final 13 field goal attempts over the final 6:33 of the opening half.
  • It was Iowa’s first 50 point half since game seven against North Florida and the fourth 50-point half of the season.
• Iowa eclipsed the century mark for the third time this season.  It is the 12th 100 point game since the start of the 2021-22 season.
• Junior Payton Sandfort posted his second career double-double, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a career-high six assists.  The forward went 7-of-12 from the field, including four 3-point field goals.
  • It is Sandfort’s fourth game this season with four or more 3-pointers.  He has made two or more 3-pointers in seven consecutive games.
• Senior Tony Perkins recorded his second 20-point game of the season, finishing with 23 points to reach double figures for the 10th time this season.  The guard made 9-of-18 field goals and finished with seven assists, six rebounds and four steals in the game.
  • Perkins has 14 assists over Iowa’s last two games.
• Freshman Brock Harding posted his first career double-double, finishing with 10 points and 12 assists.  He also had a career-high four steals.
  • It is Iowa’s first points-assists double-double since Joe Toussaint in 2021.
  • Harding’s 12 assists are the most by a Hawkeye freshman since Jordan Bohannon’s 13 against TCU in 2017 in the NIT.
  • Harding has three games with seven or more assists this season.  The 12 assists are the most by a Hawkeye this season.
  • Harding is the 21st player with 10+ assists in a game in school history.
• Graduate Ben Krikke notched his first double-double of the season (and fourth of his career), finishing with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds.
  • It is his 10th game in double figures this season. 
• It is the first time since 2013 that Iowa has had three double-doubles in the same game – Jarrod Uthoff, Melsahn Basabe and Gabriel Olaseni – against Farleigh Dickinson.
  • Farleigh Dickinson and UMBC are the only two No. 16 seeds to beat No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
• Iowa had five players finish in double figures in the game.  It is the third time this season the Hawkeyes have had at least five players in double digits.
• Iowa assisted on 15 of its 20 field goals in the first half and 33 of 42 field goals in the game. 
  • The 33 assists are a season high – one shy of the Iowa single game school record.
• The Hawkeyes scored a season-high 66 points in the paint in the game.

Up Next
The Hawkeyes host their final nonconference game of the season Dec. 29, hosting Northern Illinois at 6 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  The game will be streamed live on B1G+.