Ben Krikke tallied 25 points, nine rebounds and four steals to lead Iowa to a workmanlike 88-74 win over Arkansas State Friday night in Iowa City.
Dasonte Bowen added a career-high 17 points and Tony Perkins added 11 points and six rebounds as Iowa (3-1) recovered from a 92-84 loss Tuesday night at No. 8 Creighton.
Iowa scored the game’s first seven points, but had trouble shaking Arkansas State (1-3) of the Sun Belt Conference.
Before he fouled out in the closing minutes, Freddy Hicks collected 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to lead the Red Wolves.
Taryn Todd contributed 16 points and six rebounds while Caleb Fields, who also fouled out, added 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Arkansas State outrebounded Iowa 44-39, but the Red Wolves had 18 turnovers versus seven for the Hawkeyes.
The Red Wolves used their long-distance marksmanship to keep it close. They made 10 of 24 shots (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Iowa struggled from deep, making 2 of 12 (16.7 percent).
Bowen helped Iowa to its quick start, scoring four of the points in its opening 7-0 run.
Arkansas State drew close as Fields muscled for a three-point play. Then a 3-pointer by Hicks tied it at 36 with 4:33 left in the first period.
Iowa scored the final eight points of the first half to take a 49-39 lead at the break. Patrick McCaffery highlighted the run with a fast-break slam following a blocked shot by Krikke.
Then the Hawkeyes tallied the first six of the second half to take their biggest lead to that point.
Bowen scored on a fast-break three-point play and McCaffery followed with a 3-pointer for a 55-39 lead. McCaffery finished with 10 points.
Midway through the half, Arkansas State reduced the deficit to single digits as Dyondre Dominguez buried a 3-pointer.
But down the stretch, Krikke, a transfer from Valparaiso, had the answers as he made four buckets in the final eight minutes. Krikke finished 10 of 14 from the floor.
–Field Level Media