Iowa Hawkeyes rally for overtime victory

On3 imageby:Tom Kakert01/12/23

HawkeyeReport

There were times on Thursday night when the Iowa basketball team looked dead in the water.

Iowa trailed by ten, 65-55 with 10:56 left in the game and the Hawkeyes were out of sorts on the defensive end of the floor. Little did the fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena know that the Iowa basketball team was about to mount a charge.

Payton Sandfort tied the game at 79-79 with a cold blooded three pointer from the top of the key and was fouled on the play. From there Iowa put the game into overtime and scored the first eight points in overtime to lead the Hawkeyes to a 93-84 win over Michigan in overtime.

The win is Iowa’s third in a row and the Hawkeyes are now 3-3 in conference play and 11-6 overall this season.

The Hawkeyes were in trouble most of the first half and well into the second thanks in large part to the red hot shooting from Jett Howard. The Michigan freshman and son of head coach Juwan Howard, couldn’t miss, making 5-6 from three in the first half, scoring 21 of his career high 34 points.

Iowa’s bench played a huge role in the outcome of this game. Josh Dix played a career high 31 minutes and handled the point guard duties down the stretch, scored 10 points and handed out five assists But, it was Sandfort who shined brightest in the second half. He scored 24 of his career high 26 points in the final twenty minutes and five minutes of overtime.

It was the overtime where Sandfort stayed hot, hitting a baseline jumper to give Iowa an 81-79 lead that they would never relinquish. He then rebounded an airball by Kris Murray and threw it blindly to the basket. The shot went in and he was fouled. Iowa went up 85-79 and the game was essentially over.

Murray hit a pair of free throws to cap Iowa’s 8-0 run to start the overtime period. He finished with a team high 27 points, pulled down 7 rebounds, and played all 45 minutes.

Iowa’s defense really stepped forward in overtime, limiting Michigan to just 1-8 shooting and they were 0-6 from three point range.

Next up for the Hawkeyes is a game on Sunday, once again at home. Iowa will host Maryland in their only meeting of the regular season. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 start and will air on the Big Ten Network.

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