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Murray brothers carry Iowa past Penn State

Jan 22, 2022; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray (15) shoots over the hands of Penn State Nittany Lions forward Greg Lee (5) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Keegan Murray scored 15 points and twin brother Kris Murray added 13 as Iowa posted a comfortable 68-51 victory over visiting Penn State on Saturday at Iowa City.

Patrick McCaffery and Jordan Bohannon each pitched in 11 points as the Hawkeyes (14-5, 4-4 Big Ten) won for the seventh time in nine games.

Iowa struggled with its 3-point shooting (6 of 27) in Wednesday’s 48-46 loss to Rutgers but found a slightly better rhythm Saturday, with Kris Murray, McCaffery and Bohannon each knocking down three 3-pointers.

Iowa finished 10 of 32 (31.3 percent) from 3-point range and shot 40.7 percent overall.

The Nittany Lions (8-8, 3-5) committed 17 turnovers, shot just 33.3 percent and only had one double-digit scorer on the day. Jalen Pickett registered 14 points for Penn State, while Myles Dread had nine points and Seth Lundy chipped in with eight.

Iowa led 30-25 at halftime after a first half in which it forced 13 turnovers.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 10-2 lead before the Nittany Lions finally caught up at 20-all with 5:34 remaining in the first half. Penn State briefly slipped into the lead late in the half before Bohannon’s 3-pointer and another long-range shot by Kris Murray ignited a 7-0 closing run by the Hawkeyes.

Iowa grew its lead early in the second half, going ahead 41-31 on McCaffery’s 3-pointer with 15:30 remaining. Penn State eventually clawed within 44-41 with 11:13 to go before Kris Murray answered with a 3-pointer to halt the momentum.

Shortly thereafter, Kris Murray drained a 3-pointer to create a nine-point advantage at 56-47 with 6:46 to play. Keegan Murray knocked one down from long range with 2:20 to go, giving Iowa its largest lead to that point, 64-49.

Penn State missed its final six shots from the field and connected on just two of its final 12 attempts. The Nittany Lions have lost three of their last four games overall and have dropped four of their last five against the Hawkeyes.

The teams meet again Jan. 31 on Penn State’s home court.

–Field Level Media

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