One week following a disheartening exhibition loss at home to Augustana (S.D.), the Iowa Hawkeyes put forth a better effort in their season opener Friday night by defeating Gardner-Webb, 76-59.

This marked the second time in four seasons the Hawkeyes have defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs. But unlike that 2012-13 meeting where Iowa had to overcome a 23-point deficit, this meeting was more highly contested at the start.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early 17-12 lead, with 10 of those points coming from senior forward Jarrod Uthoff, who finished with a career-high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

In addition to starting the game off strong, Uthoff played a critical role for Iowa in the closing minutes of the first half by scoring the Hawkeyes' final seven points to give them a 41-37 lead at halftime.

Iowa's lead became insurmountable early in the second half, as an 8-0 run highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from junior forward Peter Jok gave the Hawkeyes a 49-37 lead and forced the Runnin' Bulldogs to burn a timeout. Jok would later leave the game with an injury to his right leg and returned to the bench in a walking boot.

From that point on, Gardner-Webb was plagued by foul trouble with centers Brandon Miller and L'Hassane Niangane fouling out. Iowa reached the second half's double bonus with 9:56 remaining and finished shooting 21-of-28 from the free-throw line.

Gardner-Webb was led in defeat by senior guards Harold McBride and Isaiah Ivey. McBride led the Runnin' Bulldogs in scoring with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting, while Ivey tallied nine points on 3-of-9 shooting and nine boards.

Iowa has a quick turnaround looming with a matchup against Coppin State taking place Nov. 15. Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb's next contest comes Nov. 16 at 18th-ranked Vanderbilt.