Iowa basketball: Hawkeyes come through in clutch to deliver win over Washington State

Posted by Admin November 16, 2024 Basketball

MOLINE, Ill. — Iowa men’s basketball and Washington State traded blows down the stretch in a tightly-contested matchup Friday.

In what was somewhat of a surprise, Iowa’s defense came up big. The Hawkeyes found a way to contain the Cougars in the final stage of the game. Washington State scored just four points in the final three-plus minutes.

It helped Iowa come away with a 76-66 victory. Morehead State transfer Drew Thelwell played a big part in the win.

With the victory, Iowa improves to 4-0 on the season.

Friday was a step up in competition for Iowa, who won its first three games of the season with relative ease. But Washington State, who entered with a 3-0 record, provided a bigger test.

For two teams that came into Friday’s contest averaging more than 90 points per game, it did not live up to the billing of an offensive show. The Hawkeyes shot just 42% from the field and 32% from deep.

The Cougars shot 39% from the field and 18% from deep. They also committed 18 turnovers. It was an encouraging performance from Iowa’s defense.

Washington State got a significant boost from Nate Calmese, who scored 27 points on 12-of-22 from the field. The Hawkeyes had extreme difficulty trying to contain him.

Owen Freeman returned to game action on Friday after missing the matchup with South Dakota earlier in the week due to an illness. In that game, Pryce Sandfort made his first career start. But the Hawkeyes returned to their regular starting lineup Friday, consisting of Brock Harding, Josh Dix, Payton Sandfort, Ladji Dembele and Freeman.

Freeman was fantastic in his return. He had the first double-double of his sophomore season, posting 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Friday’s contest, held at Vibrant Arena in Moline, Illinois, was a homecoming for Freeman and Brock Harding. As seniors in high school, Freeman and Harding delivered a 35-3 overall record and an Illinois state championship. Harding was also named 2023 Illinois Mr. Basketball.

Friday was Iowa’s first game in Moline since 1998.

Against Washington State, Payton Sandfort had 18 points but shot just 5-of-15 from the field and 2-of-10 from deep.

Iowa got a lift from its bench. Freshman Cooper Koch had six points. Seydou Traore had five points. Thelwell had seven. Pryce Sandfort had four.

Freeman, who was playing very well early on, was called for a technical for taunting following a putback dunk. That was his second foul, forcing him to sit out nearly the last eight minutes of the first half.

Iowa led by two when Freeman exited and was outscored by five points the remainder of the half.

Iowa was fortunate to only be down 36-33 at the break. The Hawkeyes turned the ball over 10 times, shot just 6-of-13 from the free throw line and just 3-of-10 from deep.

The Hawkeyes, however, made winning plays in crunch time to come away with the victory.

Friday was Iowa’s first higher-level opponent of the season but there is more to come. After hosting Rider early next week, the Hawkeyes travel to Kansas City, Missouri for a neutral site game against Utah State.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com