Field Level Media
Nov 12, 2021
Keegan Murray scored a career-high 25 points as Iowa pulled away for an 89-57 victory over visiting Kansas City on Friday night in Iowa City.
After getting a career-high 24 points in 17 minutes Tuesday against Longwood, Murray was equally as effective in a game that saw the Hawkeyes (2-0) start sluggishly before taking control.
A productive reserve last season, Murray shot 9 of 15 from the field and collected four rebounds and three steals as Iowa scored 58 points in the paint and 26 fastbreak points. The forward was 6 of 7 from the field and scored 17 points after halftime when Iowa outscored Kansas City (0-2) by a 52-34 margin.
Jordan Bohannon added 13 for Iowa, which shot 52.3 percent despite missing 12 of 16 3-point tries. He ended the night with 373 career 3-pointers -- one shy of the Big Ten's all-time record held by Jon Diebler of Ohio State from 2008 to 2011.
Patrick McCaffery added 10 points while Filip Rebraca contributed nine points and 13 rebounds for the Hawkeyes, whose largest lead was 39.
Anderson Kopp scored 11 points for Kansas City, which dropped its second straight game against a Big Ten foe after falling short at Minnesota on Tuesday. Josiah Allick, who was named to the Summit League's first team in the preseason, was held to four points after scoring 21 Tuesday.
The Roos shot 41.1 percent and allowed 25 points off 17 turnovers.
Kansas City was within 27-23 on a 3-pointer by Caden Boser, but Iowa dominated the final 4:09 of the first half. The Hawkeyes scored the final 10 points of the half and held a 37-23 lead when McCaffery hit a layup with eight seconds left.
Iowa continued to surge ahead and held a 46-28 lead on Murray's 3-pointer less than three minutes into the second half. After Kansas City was within 48-33 on a 3-pointer by Allick with 14:28 remaining, Murray converted a pair of dunks as Iowa ripped off nine straight points for a 57-33 lead with 12:18 to go and the Hawkeyes took their first 30-point lead at 63-33 on a 3-pointer by Bohannon with 10:46 left.
--Field Level Media