The Iowa basketball team earned its second win of the season in a high scoring victory over Southern University, 89-74, inside Carver Hawkeye Arena on Thursday night.
Second-year forward Pryce Sandfort led the way with a career-high 22 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting, while his older brother Payton chipped in 17 points and eight rebounds. Second-year center Owen Freeman also had a solid night, posting 15 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
Both teams looked sluggish offensively to begin the game, combining for only 12 points at the first media timeout, though Iowa led 8-4.
After the break, the Hawkeye offense was sparked by a three-pointer by second-year forward Ladji Dembele. Iowa followed this with a methodical 22-14 run over the next seven minutes, capping it off with a three-pointer by fourth-year forward Payton Sandfort and forcing Southern head coach Kevin Johnson to call a timeout.
The 30-second intermission worked well for the Jaguars. In the final eight minutes, Southern caught fire from three-point land, going 4-for-4 and trailing by only 10 points near the end of the half.
A put-back by AJ Barnes cut the Hawkeye lead to 43-37 with a minute and change remaining in the period. After a Josh Dix layup, Iowa regained possession and had time for one final shot, resulting in a Pryce Sandfort triple at the buzzer to give the Hawkeyes an 11-point halftime lead.
Iowa’s scoring was distributed evenly after 20 minutes of play with six different players recording a field goal. Highlighting the offensive production was Pryce Sandfort, scoring 11 points and going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.
Owen Freeman started things off in the second period by splashing in his first career three pointer, followed by a dunk in transition to push the lead back up to 14.
A pair of three pointers from Payton and Brock Harding ballooned the lead to 17, giving the Hawkeyes its largest lead of the game.
With 14 minutes remaining, Pryce entered the game and continued his impressive scoring night, connecting on his first two three point attempts of the second half.
A put-back layup and another long three pointer gave Pryce a career high 22 points on, giving the Hawkeyes a commanding 81-60 lead with five minutes remaining.
Southern ended the game on a 10-0 run, but it was too little too late for the Jaguars, and Iowa coasted to an easy victory.
Up Next
Iowa wraps up the Kenny Arnold Classic on Nov 12 against South Dakota. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. with coverage on Big Ten Network.