Iowa Pulls Away For 76-59 Win Over Gardner-Webb Friday Night
November 13, 2015 | Men's Basketball
IOWA CITY, Iowa --- Senior Isaiah Ivey (Georgetown, Ky.) paced the Runnin' Bulldogs with nine points and a game-high nine rebounds, as the Iowa Hawkeyes pulled away in the second half en route to a 76-59 win over Gardner-Webb in both teams' season-opener on Friday evening.
Iowa (1-0) knocked down 41 percent of its attempts from the floor on the night while converting 21-of-28 at the line. The Hawkeyes held Gardner-Webb (0-1) to a field goal percentage of 32 percent in the contest and won the battle on the glass by a 46-39 margin. Iowa scored 21 points off 17 Gardner-Webb turnovers and outscored the Runnin' Bulldogs in the paint, 28-16.
Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting, converting 6-of-7 at the charity stripe, as Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) chipped in 10 points. Ivey added nine points and a game-high nine boards, while Dylan Poston (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and Jamaal Robateau (Queensland, Australia) each added seven points.
Jarrod Uthoff paced the Hawkeyes with a game-high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line, as Adam Woodbury added 11 points and six boards. Ahmad Wagner pulled down eight boards and Mike Gesell dished out a game-high nine assists. Peter Jok and Anthony Clemmons each chipped in eight points.
The Runnin' Bulldogs hung tough in the opening few mintues, carrying a narrow 7-6 lead into the first media timeout with five early points from Nelson. Iowa quickly countered with an 11-5 run to take a 17-12 advantage on a lay-in by Ellington at the 11:28 mark.
Gardner-Webb answered with a 10-6 spurt of its own, cutting the lead to 23-22 on a layup by McBride with eight minutes to play in the first half. The senior guard put the Runnin' Bulldogs on top, 29-26, 90 seconds later with a nifty right-handed up-and-under finish.
Iowa would fight back with eight of the next 13 points to pull even at 34-34 following a jumper from Dom Uhl at the 3:08 mark. The Hawkeyes finished the first half on a 7-3 run, carrying a 41-37 advantage into the break behind a 20-point effort from Uthoff.
Jok got the Hawkeyes going in the second half, knocking down back-to-back threes before a steal and a bucket by Gesell stretched the lead to 49-37 at the 18:41 mark. Iowa controlled the pace of play for much of the next 10 minutes, extending the margin to 67-51 on a corner trey by Nicholas Baer with 7:12 to play to cap a 9-2 run.
The Hawkeyes would close out the night from there, edging the Runnin' Bulldogs by a 9-8 margin down the stretch to seal the 76-59 victory.
Gardner-Webb returns to the court on Monday when the Runnin' Bulldogs square off against No. 18 Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee. Tip-off is slated for 8:00 pm ET on the SEC Network Plus.
