Iowa rides huge first half to rout of Southeast Missouri State

Alvaro Folgueiras came off the bench to score 16 points and Iowa rolled to a 99-70 nonconference win over Southeast Missouri State on Tuesday night in Iowa City.

Bennett Stirtz added 15 points and nine assists for the Hawkeyes (4-0), while Cam Manyawu chipped in 12 points. Trevin Jirak added 10 in a reserve role as Iowa converted 61.2% (30 of 49) from the field and also beat a path to the foul line, sinking 29 of 39 (74.4%).

Luke Almodovar scored 15 points to pace the RedHawks (1-4), which also got 12 from Brendan Terry and 11 from Braxton Stacker. But they didn’t have the firepower or the defense to make it a 40-minute game.

Despite hitting 26 of 50 shots from the field, Southeast Missouri State got itself into turnover trouble, committing 17 that the Hawkeyes cashed in for 26 points. The Hawkeyes also were whistled for 25 fouls, including 16 in a first half that buried their chances for an upset.

Isaia Howard dunked 10 seconds into the game and Iowa had the lead for good. It led 11-5 at the first TV timeout with 15:15 remaining and never really looked back. Tavion Banks made consecutive layups for a 17-7 lead at the 13:17 mark and the Hawkeyes led by double figures for the night’s remainder.

Manyawu’s 3-point play with 9:21 left in the half pushed the lead to 20 for the first time at 29-9. Folgueiras closed the half in style by draining a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left off a Stirtz feed, making it 49-25.

Iowa pushed the margin to 30 with 13:46 left in regulation when Brendan Hausen knocked down a 3-pointer. Southeast Missouri State made a decent run and closed within 86-67 on two foul shots by Terry with 3:48 remaining.

Ten straight points by the Hawkeyes got them within range of their second 100-point game of the season in the final minute. Iowa averaged 1.52 points per possession, scoring on 45 of its 65 possessions.

–Field Level Media