No. 25 Iowa wallops UMass Lowell to close nonconference slate

Bennett Stirtz scored a team-high 22 points Monday and added eight assists as No. 25 Iowa finished up its nonconference schedule with a 90-62 rout of UMass Lowell in Iowa City.

Cam Manyawu and Alvaro Folgueiras each added 14 points, while Tavion Banks made all five shots he attempted in finishing with 12. The Hawkeyes (11-2) carved up the River Hawks to the tune of 58.2% shooting from the field, drawing 20 assists on 32 made baskets.

Angel Montas made 10 of 12 field goals and scored a game-high 23 points for UMass Lowell (5-10), while Darrel Yepdo and Xavier Spencer each added 10. The River Hawks canned 24 of 50 shots from the field but hurt themselves by committing 16 turnovers that Iowa cashed in for 22 points.

Iowa led by double figures for the final 35:38, turning the game into a blowout with a surge in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Banks dunked in transition off a Folgueiras pass for a 68-43 advantage at the 9:43 mark, forcing a timeout from Umass Lowell.

The Hawkeyes increased their lead as high as 33 on five occasions later in the half.

The pregame storylines concerned how Iowa would play in its last tuneup before diving into Big Ten play for the regular season's remainder and if UMass Lowell could improve its shaky defense.

The first half saw the Hawkeyes predictably exploit the River Hawks' inability to consistently come up with stops. The hosts scored on 23 of their 32 possessions, averaging nearly a point and a half per possession, and canned 18 of 26 shots from the field.

Led by Stirtz's 11 points and five assists, Iowa led for all but 29 seconds of the half and held a comfortable 47-30 advantage at the break.

UMass Lowell hit 12 of 24 shots but also coughed it up eight times in the opening half, leading to 12 points, and was outrebounded 15-9.

--Field Level Media