Payton Sandfort recorded the first triple-double in Iowa men’s basketball history with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Hawkeyes held on for a 90-81 win over Penn State on Tuesday night in Iowa City.
Josh Dix added 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting for Iowa (17-12, 9-9 Big Ten), which earned its third win in the past four games. Owen Freeman contributed 11 points and eight rebounds.
Qudus Wahab scored 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting to lead Penn State (14-15, 8-10). RayQuawndis Mitchell scored 16 points and Ace Baldwin Jr. finished with 11 points for the Nittany Lions, whose two-game winning streak ended.
Iowa shot 47.2 percent (25 of 53) from the field and 8 of 16 from 3-point range. Penn State shot 45.1 percent (32 of 71) overall and 4 of 17 from beyond the arc.
The Hawkeyes led throughout the second half.
Penn State shaved the deficit to five points at 63-58 on a 3-pointer by Nick Kern Jr. with 14:58 remaining.
Iowa responded with a 10-0 run to increase its lead to 73-58 with 10:49 left. Sandfort made a layup off a feed from Ladji Dembele to finish the run.
The Nittany Lions pulled back within six points in the final minute. Baldwin converted a three-point play to make it 82-76 with 58 seconds remaining.
The Hawkeyes scored eight of the final 13 points to seal the victory.
Iowa established a 47-39 lead at the half.
The Hawkeyes sprinted to a 29-12 lead to start the game. Iowa scored six straight points to finish the run thanks to a jumper by Dembele, a 3-pointer by Pryce Sandfort and a free throw by his brother Payton Sandfort.
Penn State responded with an 8-0 run to pull back within 29-20 with 7:45 to go in the first half. D’Marco Dunn had four points during the run, and Jameel Brown and Demetrius Lilley contributed two points apiece.
Brock Harding made a 3-pointer in the final minute of the half to give Iowa a 47-37 lead.
Mitchell made a layup to cut Penn State’s deficit to eight at the break.
–Field Level Media
