Bennett Stirtz started slow against Northwestern Sunday but once he got hot, he stayed hot, guiding Iowa to a 76-70 win at Carver Hawkeye.
The Hawkeyes got off to a slow start, opening the game 4-of-15 from the field and 0-of-5 from 3-point range, trailing Northwestern, 15-13, with just under nine-minutes remaining in the half. Before the offense settled in, Iowa missed eight straight field goals while weathering a nearly four-minute scoring drought.
The Hawkeyes used a 14-3 run and a 10-0 run to build a 36-30 lead, marking its first lead since they led, 11-9. Iowa would make five straight field goals in that span as it built a seven-point lead, the largest lead by any team in the first 20 minutes. At the end of the opening half Iowa led the Wildcats, 39-35.
Senior Bennett Stirtz paced Iowa with 14 points, shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Fellow senior Tavion Banks added nine points and three rebounds, while shooting 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.
The Hawkeyes shot 11-of-25 (44 percent) from the field and 0-of-5 from 3-point range, marking its first half all season going without a 3-pointer. Iowa converted on 17-of-22 (77.3 percent) from the free-throw line. The Wildcats came into the game leading the country, averaging 8.2 turnovers per game and the Hawkeyes forced eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
In the second half it became the Bennett Stirtz show as the Hawkeyes built on their lead in the second half, leading by 14, its largest of the game at the 13-minute mark. Northwestern battled back, cutting Iowa’s deficit to three before a Stirtz 3-pointer pushed Iowa’s lead back to six. The Hawkeyes led by no more than nine the rest of the way as the Wildcats refused to go away.
A Wildcat 3-pointer cut the Iowa lead to three with two-minutes remaining. A layup from Stirtz gave Iowa a five-point cushion and a dunk from redshirt freshman Cooper Koch was the exclamation point, giving Iowa a 76-70 advantage with under 30 seconds remaining.
Stirtz marked a career-high 36 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He was also perfect at the free-throw line, making all eight of his attempts. Banks added 13 points while also leading all players on the glass with seven rebounds.
Iowa returns to action Wednesday, traveling to College Park for a Big Ten road game at Maryland. Game time is set for 5 p.m. (CT) from the XFINITY Center. You can hear the game on FM 95.1 KWPC and is brought to you by Ed Morse Chevy, Buick and GMC and Muscatine Power and Water.
