The Iowa men’s basketball team survived a slow start with an overpowering finish in the first half to throttle the University of Maryland Baltimore County, 103-81, Wednesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes outscored the Retrievers, 66-34, in the paint and 28-6 on the fast break to put up more than 100 points for the first time since Nov. 29.
The Hawkeyes were favored by 27.5 points heading into the contest, but much of the first half against the Retrievers looked like anything but a lopsided contest. Starting with a three-pointer from UMBC guard Marcus Banks, the Retrievers jumped out to an early lead, which they held for nearly five minutes until Hawkeye forward Payton Sandfort nailed a three of his own to give the Hawkeyes a two-point advantage.
From there, the two squads would trade baskets for the next ten minutes, as UMBC caught fire from beyond the arc, connecting on six of its ten three-point attempts in the first half. Iowa kept pace by dominating in the rebounding department, 27-12. Hawkeye big men Ben Krikke and Owen Freeman each snagged three of the offensive variety in the first half, totaling half of Iowa’s 12 offensive boards, which in turn led to 14 second-chance points.
Then, with just over six minutes remaining in the period, the shots stopped falling for the Retrievers while the Hawkeyes kept command in the paint and rolled into the break on a 25-7 run to increase their margin to 50-36. The run was highlighted by made shots, as Iowa hit 13 of their last 16 field goals down the stretch, but also with the playmaking skills of first-year guard Brock Harding, who delivered a no-look bounce pass to Krikke for a layup.
This pass from @IowaHoops' Brock Harding to Ben Krikke was 🤯 pic.twitter.com/WcJgyR2AkM
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 21, 2023
Leading the scoring charge for the Hawkeyes was Perkins, who splashed five of his 10 field goal tries on his way to 12 first-half points in 16 minutes of action.
To open the second half, it was Iowa which found its stroke from long range, as Sandfort and senior forward McCaffery found the net on the Hawkeyes’ first two shot attempts.
UMBC’s tallest player, Max Lorca-Lloyd, stands at just 6-foot-9, and Iowa took advantage of this height discrepancy with 36 points in the paint in the second half.
Harding connected on his ninth assist of the night with another no-look dime for a layup, this time hitting guard Josh Dix from the top of the key.
Looking to earn his fifth-career Big Ten Freshman of the Week Award, Freeman got the Black and Gold faithful on their feet with a two-handed baseline jam to put Iowa ahead, 73-48.
With just over seven minutes remaining, Harding snagged a steal off a bad pass from Retriever Khydarius Smith, took a dribble, then fed Perkins on a one-handed cross-court pass for another dunk. That play was the guard’s tenth assist of the evening.
Another one đź‘€@Saucy___T x #Hawkeyes
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) December 21, 2023
A few minutes later, Harding notched his first-career double-double, registering his 10th point on a layup from an over-the-shoulder pass from Perkins on the fast break.
The Hawkeyes broke the century mark with a ferocious one-handed slam from center Even Bruans, once again on a Harding assist. Perkins capped the scoring with another dunk of his own to give the Hawkeyes a dominating win.
Up NextÂ
Now standing at 6-5 on the season, Iowa will host Northern Illinois on Dec 29 to close out nonconference competition. The Huskies are 6-4 on the year and are coming off a 92-48 victory over Calumet College on Dec. 19.