Jeffrey Becker/USA Today Sports
Garza, Nunge Complement Iowa's Win Over Oral Roberts
Luka Garza and Jack Nunge were 6-foot-11 bookends in Iowa's 2017 recruiting class.
They were the perfect pair in the Hawkeyes' 87-74 win over Oral Roberts on Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Garza scored a career-high 30 points and had 10 rebounds. Nunge had 14 points and had a career-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double.
Five Iowa players scored in double figures as the Hawkeyes rebounded from Monday's 93-78 loss to DePaul.
Garza, whose previous career high was 25 points on three different occasions, had 18 points in the first half as the Hawkeyes (2-1) built a 55-40 halftime lead.
Oral Roberts’ tallest player was 6-foot-8, so the 6-11 Garza knew he had a height advantage.
“I think tonight we knew we had to get the ball inside,” Garza said. “We knew they would double, so I knew I had to get deep post positions. That was just really my focus, to try to avoid the double-team as much as I could so I could get into my move without having to worry about it. And when they did double, I thought I handled it better than I have. I’ve learned how to adjust to it.”
“He is one of those guys who has been getting doubled his whole life,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “He is so crafty and quick with those moves, a lot of times he can get there before the double-team does.”
Nunge, who took a redshirt season last year, has started every game this season, but had just two points in the Hawkeyes’ first two games and had missed all five of his field-goal attempts. He started this game by missing a layup on Iowa’s opening possession, then responded by hitting four of his next six shots.
“Coach has been on me the last couple of days of practice to keep shooting, looking for my shot more,” Nunge said. “I tried to do that tonight.”
“He has a beautiful stroke, we want him to keep shooting the ball and being aggressive like that,” McCaffery said.
Iowa led by as much as 21 points in the second half before Oral Roberts (1-3) rallied to get to within 82-74 with 1:34 to play. But a layup by Joe Wieskamp and a 3-pointer by Jordan Bohannon provided the final margin.
Wieskamp and Bohannon each had 11 points and Connor McCaffery added 10 points and seven assists.
Max Abmas had 25 points, 16 in the second half, to lead Oral Roberts.
