By Adam Hensley
Certain teams in college basketball live and die by the 3.
Iowa, a team that characteristically does not launch shot after shot from downtown, used a record-setting 3-point assault to down Savannah State, 116-84, on Sunday afternoon.
The Hawkeyes set a team record for 3s taken (43) and made (18).
“We would have preferred a little more of a mixture of penetration, but we have good 3-point shooters. And we were open,” head coach Fran McCaffery said.
Brady Ellingson led the 3-point shooting barrage, netting 4 triples. He led all scorers with 23 points.
Ellingson echoed McCaffery’s comments about getting good, uncontested looks from beyond the 3-pointer arc.
“I just knew that if I was going to get open shots, I was going to try my best to make them,” he said. “My teammates did a great job setting me up for them.”
Those 23 points were a career high.
Ball movement, something the Hawkeyes knew would be key in defending a full-court defense that relies heavily on zone, proved to be the fuel for Iowa’s offense.
Iowa recorded assists on 33 baskets — 11 different players dished out at least 1.
More importantly, the point guard play of Christian Williams and Jordan Bohannon helped to elevate the Hawkeyes.
Combined, the backcourt duo, moving the ball up and down the court through an aggressive press, tossed 13 assists with only 1 turnover.
“It was a unique zone defense,” McCaffery said. “And we just kind of moved the ball. It wasn’t like we did anything that specific against it. There are other things we can run against zone. But for us it was all about ball movement, throwbacks. And … the number of assists for the number of field goals, that’s a really good percentage.”
Iowa capitalized on those high-percentage shots, especially in the second half.
Freshman Tyler Cook, who was held to only 4 points in the first half, scored 10 in the second. The ball found its way into his hands twice on dunks. Cook’s points came off of a 7-for-9 shooting outing — pretty efficient.
Even more efficient was freshman Cordell Pemsl, who did not miss a shot.
“I was getting good position down low,” Pemsl said. “They had to honor shots that our guys were making. Brady had a great first half, so that kept the low post open. Whether it was me and Ahmad [Wagner], or whoever it was running the high and low post, they did a great job feeding us.”
Pemsl finished 7-for-7, scoring a career-high 18 points, and also grabbed 9 rebounds, and recorded 3 assists.
Peter Jok finished with an off-shooting night. Coming off the heels of a 27-point game, the senior scored 13 (5-of-15 from the field, 3-of-10 from 3).
In total, 12 players recorded 10-plus minutes of playing time for Iowa.
On Nov. 11, Iowa hosted Kennesaw State in its first game of the season and won, 91-74. Jok’s 27 led both teams in scoring.
Wagner stuffed the stat sheet. The sophomore scored 12 points, snagged 5 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, blocked 4 shots, and stole the ball twice.
Pemsl and Nicholas Baer each scored 10 in the game. Cook recorded 10 rebounds in his Hawkeye regular-season début.
Iowa’s next game will be a step up in competition. Seton Hall, the 2016 Big East champion, will travel to Carver-Hawkeye for an 8 p.m. matchup on Thursday.
