Hawkeyes defeat Minnesota Duluth with an exhibition victory

IOWA CITY – Iowa men's basketball defeated Minnesota Duluth 102-81 in a contest Friday.

The Hawkeyes were led by Owen Freeman, Payton Sandfort and Josh Dix. Expectations are high for the trio starting this season. On Friday, they combined for 66 of Iowa's 102 points on Friday.

Sandfort finished the game with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Meanwhile, Freeman had 21 points and eight rebounds. Dix had 22 points on an efficient 9 of 12 from the field. He scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half.

Video: Payton Sandfort leads Iowa with 23 points in exhibition win

Payton Sandfort discusses several topics following Iowa's exhibition victory over Minnesota Duluth.

Iowa entered Friday's game with a starting lineup of Brock Harding, Josh Dix, Payton Sandfort, Ladji Dembele and Owen Freeman.

Outside the dominant trio, Ladji Dembele was very good.

Unofficially, Dembele made his first start as a Hawkeye on Friday. As a rookie last season, he was a role player even when he came off the bench, but could be considered for more. He had seven points and four rebounds on Friday.

More: With the departure of Tony Perkins, who is the next men's basketball point guard in Iowa?

Harding scored just two points on 1 of 7 shooting but had six assists.

The Hawkeyes had 10 players on the scoresheet Friday – Payton Sandfort, Freeman, Dix, Dembele, Harding, Seydou Traore, Cooper Koch, Drew Thelwell, Pryce Sandfort and Even Brauns.

Pryce Sandfort, Thelwell, Traore, Koch and Brauns combined for 27 points off the bench.

Pryce Sandfort was decisive in the second half, scoring all eleven points after the break.

As expected at this point in the calendar year, it looked like Iowa was still trying to get into rhythm. Uncharacteristically, the Hawkeyes turned the ball over eight times in the first half. Minnesota Duluth trailed by just two points with less than six minutes left in the first half, but Iowa clawed back a lead and went into halftime with a nine-minute lead.

Iowa went 9-0 in the second half and quickly expanded its lead to 18 points. However, Minnesota Duluth would not disappear as Iowa did not cause complete destruction. However, the lead still remained in double digits in Iowa's favor for the remainder of the contest.

Iowa had a very efficient 59% from the field but 32% from deep.

More: Iowa Men's Basketball Sophomore Development: “We Have a Very Special Class”

Video: Owen Freeman has 21 points and eight boards in exhibition win

Owen Freeman discusses several topics following Iowa's exhibition victory over Minnesota Duluth.

Minnesota Duluth, a Division II program, is led by head coach Justin Wieck, who has strong ties to Iowa. Wieck is a North Liberty native who played at both Kirkwood Community College and the University of Iowa. Wieck is entering his seventh season as head coach of Minnesota Duluth.

Iowa's regular season begins Monday, November 4th at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against Texas A&M Commerce.

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