Iowa junior center Luka Garza finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, Joe Wieskamp added 16 points, including three 3-pointers, and the Hawkeyes had a strong shooting night in their season debut, defeating Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 87-60 on Friday in Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes connected on 17 of their first 36 shots to seize a 55-37 lead with about 13 1/2 minutes remaining in the second half. The Cougars (1-1) struggled all night shooting from beyond the arc, with a 3-for-13 start to finish 4-for-18 on 3-pointers.
Sophomore guard Cameron Williams had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Cougars. Reserve guard Kenyon Duling added 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting.
Iowa senior guard Jordan Bohannon, who averaged 11.6 points and 3.4 assists last season, saw his streak of 96 consecutive starts snapped. Bohannon entered the game with 14:03 left in the first half.
Bohannon, a starter at point guard the last three years, is easing into the season after undergoing right hip surgery in May. He played primarily shooting guard against the Cougars to lessen the stress on his repaired hip.
Bohannon shot 2-for-5 from the floor, including 1-for-4 from beyond the arc, to finish with nine points and four assists.
He drilled a corner 3-pointer to hand Iowa a 29-22 lead with 3:54 left in the first half. Bohannon, sporting a beard, brought the crowd to its feet with a half-court bounce pass to CJ Fredrick for a layup for a 35-24 lead late in the first half. Joe Toussiant scored nine points off the bench for the Hawkeyes.
Even with Bohannon limited, the Hawkeyes led 38-26 at halftime behind 14 points from Garza and 10 from Wieskamp. The Cougars shot 2-for-10 on 3-pointers in the opening half.
The Hawkeyes extended their streak to nine straight season opening wins, and have won 60 of their last 64 nonconference home games.
--Field Level Media
SIU - Edwardsville | Iowa | |
Kenyon Duling 10 | Scoring | Luka Garza 20 |
Cam Williams 3 | Assists | Jordan Bohannon 4 |
Anselm Uzuegbunem 7 | Rebounds | Luka Garza 12 |
Brandon Jackson 2 | Free Throws Made | Luka Garza 6 |
Mike Adewunmi 1 | Steals | Riley Till 2 |
Mike Adewunmi 1 | Blocks | Luka Garza 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
SIU - Edwardsville | 60 | 41.9 | 4-18 | 4-4 | 11 | 28 | 3 | 6 | 18 |
Iowa | 87 | 46.4 | 8-25 | 27-32 | 17 | 31 | 4 | 9 | 12 |