Payton Sandfort's huge second half propels Iowa to 85-60 romp over Indiana
Payton Sandfort scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, sophomores Owen Freeman and Brock Harding added double-doubles and Iowa pummeled Indiana 85-60 on Saturday night.
Sandfort only had a pair of free throws in the first half, but he made 7 of 9 shots with four 3-pointers after the break for the Hawkeyes (12-4, 3-2 Big Ten Conference). Freeman totaled 16 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. He also blocked four shots. Harding had 10 points and 10 assists for his second double-double of the campaign.
Drew Thelwell and Josh Dix both scored 12 for Iowa.
Myles Rice had 12 points and five assists for the Hoosiers (13-4, 4-2), who saw a five-game win streak end. Oumar Ballo totaled 10 points and 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
Freeman had 10 points and eight rebounds in the first half and Dix and Harding both scored nine as Iowa took a 43-33 advantage into halftime. Rice had 11 points at the break for Indiana. Both teams shot over 52% from the floor, but the Hawkeyes got off six more shots than the Hoosiers and made five of them.
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Sandfort buried a 3-pointer and was fouled attempting one less than a minute later, sinking all three free throws for a 52-36 lead with 17:24 remaining. Sandfort hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 65-40 a little over four minutes later and Iowa's lead stayed above 20 over the final 14:41. A Sandfort 3-pointer pushed the lead to 30 with 1:39 left to play.
Iowa travels to play Southern California on Tuesday. Indiana will host No. 13 Illinois on Tuesday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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