When head coach Ben McCollum started to rebuild the Iowa Hawkeyes this season after two successful years at Drake and four Division 2 championships to his credit, he probably couldn’t have imagined the start the Hawkeyes have had in 2025.
With a rebuilt roster, including six players he coached at Drake last year, McCollum has Iowa playing tenacious defense and an opportunistic offense on the way to a 7-0 start. The latest win came Wednesday against the Grand Canyon Antelopes, who played their own tough defense but struggled against the Hawkeyes defense. The 59-46 Iowa win, coupled with a 74-69 win over Ole Miss Tuesday, gives Iowa the Group 2 title in the Acrisure Series in Palm Desert.
Even with star Bennett Stirtz struggling from the field, hitting just five of 15 shots, the Hawkeyes found enough offense to take the lead midway through the first half and never surrender it to Grand Canyon, which came with its traditional large fan base and band from Arizona. Instead, it was Isaia Howard coming off the bench who pushed Iowa’s offense, with 19 points on seven of 10 shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers.
It was Grand Canyon that started the game hot for a 10-4 lead behind eight quick points from Jaden Henley on two 3-pointers and another basket. But Iowa’s defense began to clamp down and the Hawkeyes took a 30-23 lead at the half.
The second half started with Grand Canyon cold from the field and Iowa playing stingy defense. Grand Canyon didn’t score a point until a free throw by Henley 5:29 minutes into the half, and by that time Iowa had built a 36-24 lead. The Antelopes’ first basket didn’t come until two minutes later, but that only cut the Iowa lead to 37-24.
With neither team finding success from the field — both teams finished shooting just 40 percent from the field — Iowa began to crawl away with timely 3-pointers and free throws. The Hawkeyes made 15 of 22 free throw attempts while attacking the basketball, while Grand Canyon made just seven of nine attempts. Three times in the final eight minutes, Grand Canyon was able to pull to within nine points, only to have the Hawkeyes pull away again to lead by as many as 17 points.
In addition to Howard’s 19 points, Stirtz added 13 points while Cooper Koch scored 11. By comparison, Stirtz had 29 points in Iowa’s win over Ole Miss on Tuesday.
For the Antelopes, which fell to 4-3 on the season, the 46 points was the fewest they had scored in any game this year. Henley was the leading scorer with 16 points on six of 11 shooting including the two early 3-pointers. Mikaih Williams added nine points for Grand Canyon.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Iowa’s rebuilt roster remains perfect after Acrisure Series title
Reporting by Larry Bohannan, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
