Brock Harding notched a career-high 20 points and dished out 10 assists and Owen Freeman scored 17 points as Iowa routed South Carolina Upstate 110-77 on Tuesday in Iowa City.
Harding shot 9-for-13 from the floor and Freeman was 8-for-12 to help the Hawkeyes top 100 points for the first time this season.
Drew Thelwell (15 points), Josh Dix (14) and Riley Mulvey (11) also scored in double figures for the Hawkeyes, who rebounded from a Friday loss to Utah State in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Mo. The Tuesday contest was the last tuneup for Iowa (6-1) before next week’s Big Ten opener against Northwestern.
Brit Harris led the Spartans (2-7) with 20 points. Carmelo Adkins chipped in 14 points while Breylin Garcia and Isaiah Skinner added 10 apiece.
The Spartans’ leading scorer and rebounder, freshman Mister Dean, was out.
The Hawkeyes led the Spartans by as many as 37 points. Both teams grabbed 34 rebounds. The Spartans’ Nic Book pulled down eight boards, while Dix led Iowa with seven.
Seven Iowa players scored at least five points to help produce a 55-28 halftime lead. The Hawkeyes shot 56.4 percent (22-for-39) during the first 20 minutes compared to 32.4 percent for the Spartans.
Freeman fueled a 14-0 run to open the game, contributing 10 points over 3:27 during the Hawkeyes’ surge.
The spurt started with a Freeman dunk on Iowa’s first possession and ended with consecutive Freeman layups in transition. Harding assisted on both plays as the Hawkeyes collected 14 assists on 22 made baskets before the break.
Iowa’s Seydou Traore left the game midway through the first half after sustaining an apparent right ankle injury. Hawkeyes staff assisted the forward off the floor as Traore was unable to put weight on his foot.
A Harris trey with 15:48 to go in the first half finally put South Carolina Upstate on the board. Iowa responded with five of the next seven points and held the Spartans under double digits until there was 11:56 remaining before the break.
–Field Level Media
