Iowa Hawkeyes forward Payton Sandfort (20) controls the ball while defended by Seton Hall Pirates guard Jaquan Sanders (13) during the first half at LionTree Arena. (Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)
Iowa Basketball Bounces Back
Iowa’s men’s basketball team salvaged a win on its trip to San Diego, bouncing back to defeat Seton Hall 85-72 in Friday’s third-place game of the Rady Children’s Invitational.
The Hawkeyes (4-2) rebounded from Thursday’s 79-67 loss to Oklahoma by making shots. Iowa was a season-high 56.4 percent from the field in Friday’s win, compared to just 35.8 percent against the Sooners.
Payton Sandfort led Iowa with 22 points. Ben Krikke had 19 points. Tony Perkins had 14 points, and Patrick McCaffery added 10.
The takeaways from Friday:
A BETTER START: The Hawkeyes took control of this game right away.
They opened the game with a 15-4 run and never trailed after that. The Hawkeyes led 44-33 at halftime behind a 60 percent shooting effort in the half.
Perkins helped spark the start. He had Iowa’s first five points, then had an assist on a Krikke basket that put Iowa up 7-2.
STOPPING THE PIRATES’ RUN: Seton Hall had momentum heading into halftime when Dylan Addae-Wusu drained a 30-foot 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer, then Seton Hall opened the second half with a basket by Kadary Richmond just nine seconds in.
But Iowa quickly pushed the lead to 53-39 before the Pirates scored 10 unanswered points. Still, Seton Hall would never get closer than four points the rest of the game.
BETTER PERKINS: Perkins was just 1-of-10 from the field in Thursday’s loss, but was 4-of-7 in this game. Perkins added five rebounds and five assists, and did a good job of running the team, especially in the second half.
Perkins has always been the spark for the Hawkeyes, and it showed again on Friday.
KRIKKE KEEPS ROLLING: Krikke continued his strong play with an 8-of-10 game from the field, but he also showed some other parts of his game as well, with five assists.
Krikke has scored in double figures in every game this season.
OTHER NOTES: Sandfort, who had a season high in scoring, was named to the all-tournament team. He also added nine rebounds. … Iowa finished with 20 assists on its 31 field goals, its fourth game with at least 20 assists. … The win is Fran McCaffery’s 265th as Iowa’s head coach, seven wins shy of becoming the winningest coach in school history.
