Hawkeyes Down Maryland for 1st B1G Win

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Maryland, 83-64, on Saturday afternoon on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the Big Ten home opener. The Hawkeyes improve to 8-1 on the season and 1-1 in league play.

After trailing the Terrapins, 5-4, early, Iowa would take the lead and dominate the rest of the half. Iowa used a 12-0 run while making five straight field goals to take a 23-9 lead with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half. During that span, Iowa held Maryland scoreless for more than two and a half minutes, forcing it to miss four straight shots.

Iowa would continue its run, creating a 30-13 advantage with 10 minutes remaining in the half. It marked at 19-4 run over four minutes as the Hawkeyes made 8-of-9 field goals. Iowa started the game 6-of-6 from beyond the arc and 12-of-16 from the field.

Maryland responded with a 7-0 run, but Iowa would keep its lead above double digits for the remainder of the half. After 20 minutes, the Hawkeyes led the Terrapins, 44-30.

Iowa came out firing in the second half, using an 8-0 run to go up 56-32. The Iowa defense held Maryland to just 1-of-6 from the field while forcing three turnovers. Maryland would respond with a 12-4 spurt, but senior Bennett Stirtz responded, scoring nine straight for Iowa.

The Hawkeyes protected their lead for the rest of the game as they won their first Big Ten game of the season. Stirtz led Iowa with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Junior Cam Manyawu added 12 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Freshman Tate Sage matched Manyawu with 12 points while redshirt freshman Cooper Koch rounded out Hawkeyes in double digits with 11.

As a team Iowa shot 34-of-63 (54.0) from the field and 9-of-22 (40.9) from 3-point range. The Hawkeyes shot 6-of-12 (50.0) from the charity stripe.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLUM
“I thought we came out with good energy, specifically offensively. We were stagnant (last game) and we worked on it for a few days. I thought our defense was solid for the most part in that first and second half.  We still had a few rebounding issues late that we need to continue to correct, but I thought we did a better job to that point and then the game got stretched out a little bit.

"They are a good team and Pharrel Payne is really good. Big, strong, physical, big. He’s probably going to be an All-Big Ten kid. Good win and onto the next now and hopefully we’ll be ready.”

GAME NOTES

• The Hawkeyes downed Maryland, 83-64, on Saturday to notch their first Big Ten victory of the season. The win moves Iowa’s record to 8-1 overall, 1-1 in league play.
  • The win snapped the Terps’ three game-winning streak in the series.
• Iowa had four players finish in double figures in the win: Bennett Stirtz 25, Cam Manyawu 12, Tate Sage 12 and Cooper Koch 11.
  • Manyawu scored 10 of Iowa’s first 12 points of the second half.
• Stirtz recorded his fourth 20-point game of the season, finishing with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting with four 3-pointers. He also had two steals.
  • His 10 field goals were a season high and the most by a Hawkeye this season.
• Manyawu and Tavion Banks tied for the team lead with seven rebounds apiece.
• The Hawkeyes improve to 6-0 at home this season.
• Iowa made its first six 3-pointers and 9-of-22 for the game.
• The Hawkeyes shot above 50 percent from the field for the first time in three games.  
  • Iowa shot 53.2 percent – its sixth game above 50 percent this season.
• Iowa had a 44 to 20 advantage in points in the paint.  
• The Hawkeyes committed 10 turnovers in the game – the fourth game with 10 or fewer turnovers.
• Iowa had 19 assists on 34 field goals with six players with at least two assists.
• The team finished with a season low six free throws and 12 free throw attempts.
• The Hawkeyes limited Maryland to two points over the first 5:41 of the second half and 10 points over the first 9:30 of the second half. 
• Iowa went on a 12-0, 17-2 and 19-4 run over a 4:31 stretch in the first half to build a 30-13 lead. Iowa made seven straight field goals during the stretch.  
  • The Hawkeyes made 11 of their first 14 shots in the game.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Thursday for an Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series matchup at nationally ranked Iowa State. The game will be televised on FS1 beginning at 7 p.m. (CT).