IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Iowa men’s basketball team found its shooting touch Friday night and as a result picked up its first win of the young season. The Hawkeyes dumped Bowling Green, 68-46, in front of about 5,000 people at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa (1-2) entered the game shooting 32.7 percent from the floor, including 20.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. The Hawkeyes made 24 of 51 shots (47.1 percent) from the floor and shot 12 of 25 (48.0 percent) on treys in Friday’s win.
“I think part of it was just a lack of anxiousness,” Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter said. “As I was telling the team today, if you want to play well, then just concentrate on the task at hand. Don’t concern yourself with things you can’t control. Don’t concern yourself with a big picture.
“These guys can shoot. I thought last game showed character to shoot it that poorly against a good team (Duquesne) and it came down to a single possession. It’s frustrating when you’re a great shooter and you don’t see it go in. But you saw it tonight, these guys, they have character. They didn’t back down.”
Freshman Eric May paced Iowa with 16 points, while sophomores Matt Gatens and Anthony Tucker chipped in with 14 and 13, respectively. Tucker also handed out nine assists.
“He did a great job tonight,” Lickliter said of Tucker. “He had nine assists, my goodness. That’s a special night. I think he was poised. He even turned the corner a few times.”
Freshman Brennan Cougill started in place of Aaron Fuller, who opened up the first two games at power forward. Fuller sprained an ankle during Friday’s game and was wearing a boot.
“(Fuller) started the last two games off with two fouls,” Lickliter said. “We told him today that we need him. He attacks the offensive glass hard. We really need him to be productive. We just thought that maybe an adjustment was in order.”
Tip-Ins
-Iowa led 33-20 at halftime, their first lead at the intermission this season.
-Iowa was 1 for 3 from the free throw line in the first half. Bowling Green did not get a chance from the charity stripe.
-J.R. Koch, Jason Bauer, Jacob Jaacks and Duez Henderson watched the game from behind the Iowa bench.
-Bowl reps from the Outback, Orange and Cap 1 were in attendance for the basketball game.
-For the third game in a row, Iowa has not hosted anybody from a local TV station. The last two games have started at 8 p.m.
-Andrew Brommer saw his first action of the season when he entered the game at the 9:45 mark of the second half. He replaced Jarryd Cole, who had picked up his fourth foul. Brommer played two minutes.
-Injured Iowa football players Jordan Bernstine and Jewel Hampton watched the game from courtside seats.
Postgame Videos
Coach Lickliter
Cole
Cougill
Tucker
May
Gatens