To kick off year two of the Ben McCollum era, the Iowa Hawkeyes topped the Atlantic Sun Conference representative Lipscomb Bisons 76-54 in a defensive showcase.
It was the first since the Hawkeyes’ Elite Eight appearance that fans were back inside of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Those in attendance saw McCollum notch his 450th career win and 25th as bench boss of the Hawkeyes.
The early chunk of the first half belonged to Iowa, with the first dozen minutes leading to a 24-12 Iowa advantage.
Lipscomb came to life shortly after. A Bisons team that couldn’t connect on their first seven three-point attempts needed just one to unlock the offense.
14 minutes and 14 seconds into the game, Takai Simpkins found that first three-pointer for the Bisons, which ignited a spark and led to a 13-0 run from Kevin Carroll’s squadron.
After briefly trailing, Iowa regained their groove, firing off a 12-2 run to close out the first 20 minutes of play.
Out of the break, a slight lull ended after Tate Sage drove to the hoop for a basket and the foul.
Within the first four minutes of the second half, Lipscomb already found themselves in deep foul trouble. Kennedy Okpara and Hugo Tidare each had four fouls to their name.
Besides that, the Bisons went 2/13 from the field in the first twelve minutes of the second half.
A relatively back-and-forth finish led to the eventual 22-point win for the Hawkeyes, who start their season 1-0. Lipscomb moves to 0-2 after a loss to Southeast Missouri State just a day before coming into Carver.
Iowa held Lipscomb to 36% from the field and 17% from beyond the arc. Offensively, the Hawkeyes shot 47% from the field and just 24% from three.
Iowa outrebounded Lipscomb by eight, although center Andrew McKeever was ruled out prior to tipoff. Trevin Jirak played the bulk of the big-man minutes for the Hawkeyes.
The newcomers also stuck out for Iowa. Freshman Jaidyn Coon led the way with 12 points, while Illinois State transfer Ty’Reek Coleman also found double figures with 10.
“I thought defensively we were really good after the first twelve minutes,” McCollum said in a postgame interview. “Offensively, I thought we got shots, but we could not make them.”
Iowa will return Friday to home-court advantage against Eastern Illinois, who have already played Big Ten foe Indiana this season, losing 91-57 inside Assembly Hall.
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