Keegan Murray poured in 27 points and ripped down 21 rebounds as Iowa finally put away stubborn North Carolina Central, winning 86-69 on Tuesday night at Iowa City, Iowa.
Murray shot 9-for-19 from the field and 9-for-10 on free throws. Nine of his rebounds came at the offensive end.
Patrick McCaffery provided 15 points as the only other Iowa starter in double figures.
The Hawkeyes (3-0) compiled a 35-8 scoring advantage on free throws, missing just six times from the foul line. It was a good thing for them because they hit only 37.7 percent from the field.
Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon made one 3-point basket to give him 374 for his career, tying former Ohio State player Jon Diebler for the Big Ten’s all-time lead. Bohannon is in his sixth season.
However, it was a subpar shooting night for Bohannon, who was 1-for-10 from the field, including 1-for-9 from 3-point range. He was a combined 9-for-13 from long distance in the first two games this season.
Tony Perkins and Ahron Ulis added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Hawkeyes, who hit 5 of 23 3-point attempts (21.7 percent).
Iowa was without forward Kris Murray, who sat out due to a non-COVID illness.
Randy Miller Jr. paced North Carolina Central (0-3) with 15 points. Marque Maultsby had 12 points, and Kris Monroe added 10.
The Eagles committed 15 turnovers compared to eight for Iowa.
With less than 12 minutes to play, the game was tied at 57-57. After grabbing a 59-58 lead, the Hawkeyes took off.
From there, Iowa posted the next nine points with four different players scoring.
Iowa led 49-44 at halftime, with North Carolina Central hanging close by shooting 58.1 percent from the field. The Hawkeyes benefited from eight offensive rebounds for 10 second-chance points, and they were 17-for-18 on free throws prior to halftime.
Iowa has won all three meetings, including last year, against North Carolina Central.
–Field Level Media
