Iowa basketball (2-0) recorded win No. 2 in the young season, taking down Alabama State (0-2), 92-58, on Nov. 12.
Sophomore forward Cordell Pemsl paced Iowa with 15 points off the bench, Isaiah Moss added 12, and Luka Garza notched a double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds, 5 offensive) to lift Iowa in dominating fashion.
“We were better defensively tonight than we were in the last game,” head coach Fran McCaffery said. “I thought we were more connected. I thought we pushed it better. We wanted to run more.”
Iowa spread out the scoring with four players reaching double digits in the scoring column and 12 of the 13 Hawkeyes who played scoring.
Tyler Cook, who scored 12 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in Iowa’s opener, recorded 10 points and 6 boards, and he also dished out 2 assists as he took the ball up-court on a pair of fast breaks.
As a team, the Hawkeyes shot 47 percent from the field and hit 11 3-pointers. Six Iowa players hit at least one shot from beyond the 3-point arc, and Brady Ellingson led the team with three from deep.
Maishe Dailey added two triples of his own in route to a career-high 11 points, also showcasing his athleticism on a handful of smooth fast-break jams.
“Brady’s been terrific,” McCaffery said. “Maishe has been great.”
Iowa’s defense limited the Hornets to a 37 percent shooting from the field, 28.6 percent from 3-point range, and forced 17 turnovers.
Moving on from the victory, the Hawkeyes will turn their focus to Grambling State, which will travel to Carver for a 7:05 p.m. tip-off on Nov. 16.