Keegan Murray had a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds and Filip Rebraca also added one with 12 points and 12 rebounds, as Iowa held on for an 81-71 victory over host Minnesota in a Big Ten game on Sunday in Minneapolis.
Murray, who entered the game tied for the Division I lead in scoring average at 23.9 points per game, went 11 of 17 from the field.
The Hawkeyes (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten) led by as many as 23 in the second half before Minnesota cut the advantage to three with 1:30 remaining.
Rebraca shot 6 of 11 from the field, while Patrick McCaffery and Jordan Bohannon added 12 points apiece for Iowa, which won for the sixth time in its past seven games. Joe Toussaint chipped in eight points and seven rebounds.
E.J. Stephens scored 22 points and Jamison Battle added 20 points and a team-high eight rebounds for Minnesota (10-5, 1-5), which lost its fourth straight game.
After falling behind 63-40 with 11:54 remaining, the Golden Gophers went on a 28-9 run to pull to within 72-68 following Payton Willis’ free throw with 2:47 remaining.
Following a jumper by McCaffrey, Battle hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 74-71 with 1:30 remaining, but Murray countered with a 3-pointer for a 77-71 lead with 59 seconds left.
Iowa shot 48.5 percent from the field, including 22.7 percent (5-for-22) from 3-point range, but found most of its success inside. The Hawkeyes outrebounded Minnesota 40-31, outscored the Golden Gophers 52-32 in the paint and 17-3 in second-chance points.
Minnesota shot 50.9 percent from the field and was 6 of 16 from behind the arc.
The Hawkeyes took control of the game for good by going on an 11-2 run midway through the first half to take a 33-19 on Murray’s layup with 5:12 left in the first half.
The Hawkeyes took a 43-27 lead at intermission after dominating inside throughout the opening 20 minutes. Iowa outrebounded Minnesota 25-15, including a 10-3 edge on offensive boards, which enabled the Hawkeyes to outscore the Golden Gophers 11-0 on second-chance points and 34-14 in the paint.
–Field Level Media
