Despite three players scoring in double digits, Cal Poly dropped their third straight game 85-59 to Iowa on Sunday Nov. 24th inside Carver Hawkeye Arena. The Mustangs (1-5) struggled on both sides of the ball, as the Hawkeyes (4-1) led for the entirety of the game
Sophomore forward Tuukka Jaakkola led the offense with a career-high 18 points. Sophomore guard Junior Ballard and graduate guard Malek Harwell each reached double digits as well, with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Hawkeyes got out to a quick 11-2 lead just four minutes into the game, behind two 3-pointers from redshirt freshman CJ Fredrick. Iowa led for the rest of the half, with the closest point difference coming with 4:38 left when Cal Poly brought the score to 25-21 on a pair of free throws from freshman forward Alimamy Koroma.
At the end of the first half, the Hawkeyes led by double digits at 35-25. Cal Poly shot 32.4 percent from the field and were unsuccessful on all ten of their 3-point attempts. On the other hand, Iowa found much more success, shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.
After a back and forth beginning to the second half, the Mustangs brought the game to within nine as a 3-pointer from Harwell made the score 51-42 in favor of the Hawkeyes. However, after that, the game was all Iowa.
The Hawkeyes went on a 14-4 run for the next four and a half minutes, giving them a commanding 65-46 lead. In the final eight minutes of the final half, Cal Poly only mustered 13 points while Iowa managed to score 20 to close out the victory.
The Mustangs ended the night shooting 36.9 percent from the field compared to 52.6 percent from the Hawkeyes. Iowa led in all major statistical categories, including rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.
Cal Poly will begin the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational on Thursday Nov. 28th at 11 a.m. against Tennessee State inside Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.