By Brendan Stiles
brendan-stiles@uiowa.edu
Thanks in part to a much better shooting performance and keeping the number of turnovers to a minimum, the Iowa men’s basketball team found a way to earn its first victory of the 2009-10 season, defeating Bowling Green at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday night, 68-46.
After shooting a combined 35-of-107 in two home losses to Texas-San Antonio and Duquesne, the Hawkeyes went 24-of-51 from the field against the Falcons. Iowa had three players reach double-figures in points, led by freshman Eric May with 16 points off the bench.
Also coming up big in terms of scoring was sophomore Matt Gatens, who finished with 14 points and six rebounds, as well as sophomore Anthony Tucker, who came away with 13 points, nine assists, and five boards.
The number Tucker had that compelled Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter to call his night “special” was the nine dimes.
“I thought he was poised. He even turned the corner a few times,” Lickliter said. “I think you just got to keep being more and more comfortable reading the play as it comes along, when you see it and making that play, and he has done a good job. He has played good basketball.”
Before this contest against Bowling Green, Lickliter emphasized improvement inside would be needed if the Hawkeyes were going to win. With sophomore Aaron Fuller picking up two quick fouls in each of the first two games earlier in the week, freshman Brennan Cougill got the start in place of Fuller.
The Sioux City native made the most of his first career start, coming away with eight points and eight reounds, three of which came on the offensive end.
“It was a dream come true for me,” Cougill said about making his first start. “I came out a little excited, a little more excited than I should have been, but after those first couple of minutes, I started to calm down and got settled into the offense.”
The Hawkeyes led the majority of the game, and while they were up 33-20 at halftime, it wasn’t as though Bowling Green was completely out of it.
That changed quickly, as Iowa stormed out to a 7-0 run to start the second half and find itself up 40-20 with 17:13 remaining in the game.
“It seemed like the whole first half, they were just hanging around between seven and 10 points,” Gatens said. “I thought it was huge just to come out and put the game away right off the bat in the second half.”
Now with a win under its belt, Iowa now travels to Kansas City to take part in the O’Reilly’s Auto Parts CBE Classic at the Sprint Center. The Hawkeyes will play two games, starting Monday night when they face No. 3 Texas at 8:45 p.m. The game is slated to be televised by ESPN2.
While this game with Bowling Green was not a part of the tournament like the first two contests were, it enabled Iowa to head into its contest with the Longhorns on Monday with confidence, something it lacked earlier this week.
“We got to build confidence, especially when you’re playing against a team that talented and that deep,” Tucker said. “You have to be as confident as possible and attack them before they attack us.”
