Josh Oglesby took a shot to the gut. The hit knocked the wind out of him.

Turnovers accelerated the next few plays, sending Oglesby running up and down the court. He exited the game.

Then he vomited.

"I couldn’t get my breath, and then it just — it came up," Oglesby said.

"Gutsy" is often an overused cliché in describing one’s athletic performance, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better word for what Oglesby did Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The freshman guard led Iowa with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting — including a 4-of-7 clip from 3-point range — as the Hawkeyes beat Northern Illinois, 88-55.

"I have seen very few shooters that shoot the ball like he does, in 29 years," head coach Fran McCaffery said.

Oglesby’s scoring barrage was an encouraging sight after he entered the contest on a 0-for-8 shooting skid. His only made shot of the season was his first in the team’s opener Nov. 11 against Chicago State.

But McCaffery doesn’t care how many shots Oglesby misses, he said Wednesday. The second-year coach wants him to keep shooting.

"When he’s open, he’s got the green light," McCaffery said. "I don’t want him even thinking about it."

He found himself open again on the perimeter fewer than two minutes later — and again, he fired away.

This time? All net.

The next two 3-pointers Oglesby launched, in the next four minutes, had the same fate. He added another trey in the second half.

"I could feel it," Oglesby said. "Shooters can feel when they’re going to have a good night. After I made my first two, I thought I was going to have a good night."

The Cedar Rapids native’s marksmanship also let him use the rest of his skills.

A minute after he made his third-straight 3-pointer, Oglesby was mysteriously left open outside again. This time, he faked the shot, drawing a late-arriving defender out of position. He dribbled twice toward the hoop and hit a pull-up jumper.

"The thing about him is once he makes a few [3-pointers], they start flying at him — he can make a play off the dribble," McCaffery said. "He’s got great vision, got the ability to put it on the floor … He’s got size, and I mean, he’s a weapon every time he catches the ball."

Oglesby said he thought the night would provide him momentum moving forward. Teammates such as senior guard Matt Gatens are counting on it.

"We’ve seen it every day in practice how well the kid can shoot," Gatens said. "To get a little confidence in him, feeling more comfortable out there, is huge for him. I’m happy for him and hopefully, he can keep it up, because we’re going to need it."