Iowa comes alive in second half, sneaks past Green Bay

IOWA CITY (AP) — Iowa’s offense struggled with turnovers early on, but thanks to its determination to feed the post, the Hawkeyes dominated down low in a 93-82 win over Green Bay on Sunday.

Luka Garza and Tyler Cook muscled Phoenix defenders in the paint all game long, as each scored 17 points.

“Early on we were getting (the ball) to me inside, then we started getting it to Cook, because we knew we had the advantage there,” Garza said. “They couldn’t stop us.”

Forwards Garza, Cook, Nicholas Baer, and Ryan Kriener combined to score 54 points, but it also was Jordan Bohannon’s play on the outside that sparked Iowa’s second-half breakaway.

Connor McCaffery’s presence at point guard allowed Bohannon to slide over from point to shooting guard, freeing him from primary ball-handling duties and giving him more looks from long-range.

Bohannon scored all 13 of his points in the second half, hitting three of his six 3-point attempts.

“I think it helped me get some shots off, especially with them pressing the entire game,” he said. “I wasn’t really too aggressive — I don’t think it was needed for me to be aggressive in the first half. I just let the game come to me.”

Thanks to early foul trouble on Cook’s end and Bohannon’s 0-for-2 performance in the first half, the Phoenix held both players to just three points combined in the opening half. They scored 27 in the second half.

Meanwhile, Green Bay hung around thanks to the hot hands of Sandy Cohen III and Manny Patterson.

Both scored 17 points, and Cohen added eight assists and six rebounds in his 37 minutes on the court.

The Phoenix forced 17 turnovers, sparking an early first-half lead. Green Bay fell into foul trouble as the game went on, however, and Iowa shot 45 free throws.

Big Picture

Green Bay: The Phoenix defense made the Hawkeyes uncomfortable for most of the game, forcing 17 turnovers. That’s one turnover better than their last game, and also something head coach Linc Darner should be pleased with.

Iowa: Defense was Iowa’s Achilles’ heel last season and it showed again. It’s early, but giving up 82 points isn’t ideal for a team that made defense an offseason priority.

Turning Point

With less than six minutes remaining in the game, Bohannon stole a Green Bay pass, and the Phoenix failed to stop the ball. The Hawkeye point guard drove to the bucket and made a layup through a foul. He made his free throw, and Iowa’s lead grew to nine — its largest of the day to that point.