The question was how would Iowa respond after a tough loss at Iowa State that the Hawkeyes could have won. The answer came right out of the gate, as the Hawkeyes scored the first eight points of the game and rolled to a 91-51 victory over Western Michigan at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Bennett Stirtz and Cooper Koch hit three pointers out of the gate and Cam Manyawu followed with a bucket of his own to force a Western Michigan timeout. Western Michigan got on the board with their first five points, but the Hawkeyes went on a 15-0 run that included back to back three point field goals from Tate Sage, buckets from Kael Combs, and an old fashioned three pointer from Stirtz that put Iowa up 34-10.
Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes with 10 points to go along with five assists. As a team Iowa shot 21-of-32 (65.6) from the field and 6-of-14 (42.9) from beyond the arc. Iowa shot 4-of-5 from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes. The Hawkeyes dished out 16 assists while committing just two turnovers in the first half.
Iowa continued their domination into the second half, leading the Broncos, 76-27, at the midway point of the second half, surpassing its largest lead of the season. The rest of the half would continue to be all Iowa as they protected its lead. 11 players finished in the scoring column for the Hawkeyes.
Stirtz, Alvaro Folgueiras, and Brendan Hausen led the way for Iowa with 13 points apiece. Cam Manyawu added 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field. Tate Sage matched Manyawu with 11 points while knocking down a career-high three 3-pointers.
Iowa head coach Ben McCollum was mostly happy with his teams effort. “I thought we came out well. Offensively, we looked pretty good. Defensively, solid. Not elite energy, but executed, probably better concentration than there was energy. The second half was good outside of the last 10-12 minutes, then it’s just like man, I pulled the little bit of hair left that I have on my head. Anyway, good game and good bounce back. Onto the next.”
As a team Iowa shot 33-of-59 (55.9) from the field and 14-of-31 (45.2) from deep as Stirtz finished the day 13 points and a season low 24 minutes of action.
Iowa heads to Des Moines next Saturday to play Bucknell. You can hear the game on KWPC at 6pm. Hawkeye sports is brought to you by Meineke Muffler, Muscatine Power and Water, Community Health Care Dental Clinic and Ed Morse Chevy, Buick, GMC.
