Minnesota relinquishes big lead, still beats No. 19 Iowa

Field Level Media|published: Tue 6th January, 22:32 2026

Jan 6, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Langston Reynolds (6) celebrates his dunk against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Langston Reynolds scored 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting and Minnesota escaped with a 70-67 win over No. 19 Iowa in a Big Ten Conference matchup Tuesday night in Minneapolis.

Cade Tyson added 16 points for Minnesota (10-5, 3-1), which continued its surprise start to the conference season under first-year coach Niko Medved. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and Isaac Asuma scored 10 points apiece.

Bennett Stirtz scored 21 points to lead Iowa (12-3, 2-2). Kael Combs scored 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting and Isaia Howard finished with 10 points.

The Hawkeyes erased a 14-point deficit in the second half before Minnesota rallied to regain the lead and hold on for the victory.

Minnesota led 58-44 with 6:36 remaining. Tyson made a layup off a pass from Grayson Grove to give the Golden Gophers the 14-point edge.

Iowa responded with a 20-5 run to seize a 64-63 lead with 1:14 remaining. Cooper Koch made a floating jump shot to punctuate the run and put the Hawkeyes on top.

Crocker-Johnson's calm shooting from beyond the arc helped Minnesota recover. He knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Golden Gophers on top 66-64 with 1:01 left.

Bobby Durkin added two free throws to push Minnesota's lead to 68-64 with 35 seconds to go.

Iowa refused to go away. Stirtz made a 3-pointer from 25 feet to pull Iowa within 68-67 with 16 seconds remaining.

The Hawkeyes quickly fouled and Asuma made a pair of free throws to increase Minnesota's lead to 70-67.

Iowa had three attempts to force overtime in the final seconds. Stirtz missed a 3-pointer but the Hawkeyes got the rebound and Brendan Hausen missed a 3-point attempt.

The Hawkeyes again grabbed the offensive rebound but Stirtz's final 3-point attempt hit the front rim.

Minnesota led 31-24 at the half.

The Hawkeyes took a 20-16 lead after Koch made a 3-pointer with 6:23 remaining before the break.

The Golden Gophers responded with a 12-0 run to seize a 28-20 advantage. Crocker-Johnson made a jump shot to start the run, which also included a highlight-reel play by Reynolds after he made a steal and finished with a breakaway dunk.

--Field Level Media

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