Iowa dominates Washington behind Bennett Stirtz’s 22 points
Bennett Stirtz scored 22 points and dished out five assists Wednesday night as Iowa rallied from a nine-point, second-half deficit for an 84-74 Big Ten Conference road win over Washington in Seattle.
The Hawkeyes (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) also got 16 points off the bench from Alvaro Folgueiras, plus 11 each from Tavion Banks and Cooper Koch. All of Koch's came after halftime, when Iowa canned 14 of 24 field goals, including 6 of 10 from the 3-point line.
Hannes Steinbach scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Huskies (12-11, 4-8), giving him a program-record 15 double-doubles as a freshman. Zoom Diallo added 16 points and 12 assists, 10 of the assists coming in the first half.
Wesley Yates III chipped in 15 points for Washington despite missing time in the second half with a leg injury. Quimari Peterson contributed 11 off the bench and Bryson Tucker potted 10 points.
Iowa trailed 50-41 after Steinbach scored to open the second half but overtook the Huskies when Folgueiras nailed two foul shots with 14:21 left for a 58-56 edge for the Hawkeyes. That was part of a 9-0 burst that put Iowa up to stay.
Steinbach's putback drew the Huskies within 67-66 at the 8:45 mark but Iowa responded with eight straight points, then led by as many as 13 in the last 2 1/2 minutes.
The teams presented a fascinating contrast in styles. Undersized Iowa entered with four straight wins behind efficient offense and improving defense but figured to be tested by Steinbach, who entered the night with four straight double-doubles.
It was Washington that carried most of the first half as it simply couldn't miss a shot. It connected on 20 of 26, including 6 of 8 from the 3-point line. The Hawkeyes couldn't cope with the Huskies' size and managed only four rebounds all half.
Yet Iowa canned 17 of 28 from the field and owned a 40-39 edge on Banks' layup at the 2:41 mark before Washington ripped off nine straight points, highlighted by Yates' 3-pointer with 48.0 seconds left. That enabled it to take a 48-41 advantage to halftime.