Hawkeyes Defeat Grand Canyon, 59-46, Win Acrisure Classic

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Grand Canyon, 59-46, on Wednesday night in the championship game of the Acrisure Classic at Acrisure Arena. The Hawkeyes improve to 7-0 on the season, the best start since the 2021-22 season.

After trailing 10-4 early in the game, Iowa used a 13-3 run over seven minutes as it held Grand Canyon scoreless for more than five minutes. In that span, the Hawkeye defense forced the Lopes into six turnovers, while limiting them to 1-of-8 from the field to take a 17-13 lead.

As the first half came to an end, the Hawkeyes led Grand Canyon, 30-23, their biggest lead of the first 20 minutes. It was a balanced attack in the first half with five players scoring above five points. The Iowa defense forced nine turnovers that it turned into 13 first half points.

The Hawkeyes controlled the second half, leading by double digits throughout. Iowa used a 7-0 spurt to create a 53-37 lead. The Hawkeyes stretched their lead to 59-42 in the final minute, their largest lead of the game. It marked the second consecutive season Iowa won a preseason tournament.

Sophomore Isaia Howard lead the team with 19 points on 7-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He added six rebounds, a block, and a steal. Senior Bennett Stirtz finished with 13 points to go along with five assists and three steals. Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch rounded out Hawkeyes in double digits with 11 points and six rebounds.

As a team Iowa shot 19-of-47 (40.4) from the field and 6-of-19 (31.6) from 3-point range. The Hawkeyes shot 15-of-22 (68.2) from the charity stripe. Iowa created 19 Grand Canyon turnovers that it turned into 22 points.

GAME NOTES

• The Hawkeyes improved to 7-0 with a 59-46 victory over Grand Canyon to win the championship of the Acrisure Classic on Wednesday night at Acrisure Arena.
• Senior Bennett Stirtz was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
• The 7-0 start is the team’s best since the 2021-22 season.
• It is the second straight year Iowa has won a preseason tournament (Kenny Arnold Classic, 2024).  
  • The team’s last tournament style crown came in 2018 at the 2K Empire Classic in New York with wins over Oregon and UConn.
• Iowa had three players finish in double figures: Isaia Howard (19), Bennett Stirtz (13), Cooper Koch (11) 
  • Howard’s 19 points were a season-high and he also tied a career-best with six rebounds.  He went 7-of-10 from the floor with a season-best three 3-pointers.
  • Koch landed in double digits for the second straight game and he had six rebounds, tied for most on the team.
  • Stirtz scored 13 points; he has been in double figures in six of Iowa’s seven games.
• Stirtz played all 40 minutes for the second straight game and fourth time this season.
• The Hawkeyes allowed a season-low 46 points – the fewest allowed by the team since Dec. 17, 2016, against UNI when the Hawkeyes defeated the Panthers, 69-46.
  • Iowa limited GCU to 40.5 percent shooting and 29.4 percent from long range.
  • GCU scored 23 points in the first and 23 points in the second half.
• The Hawkeyes forced nine turnovers in the first half and 19 for the game.
  • Iowa scored 22 points off the 19 turnovers.
• The Hawkeyes held GCU without a point for the first 5:30 of the second half and six points over the first 11:30.
• Iowa trailed by six early (its largest deficit of the season) and 13-8 at the 13:56 mark.  The Hawkeyes used a 9-0 spurt to take a 17-13 lead and never trailed again.
  • Iowa allowed 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting for the final 13:56 of the opening half.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Dec. 2, traveling to East Lansing, Michigan, for their Big Ten Conference opener at nationally-ranked Michigan State. The game will begin at 6 p.m. (CT) and be streamed on NBC's Peacock.