IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Keegan Murray had 27 points and 21 rebounds — both career highs — and Iowa used a 14-3 second-half run to pull away in its 86-69 win over North Carolina Central on Tuesday night.
Murray, who set then-career bests of 24 and 25 points in the first two games of the season, made 9 of 10 from the free-throw line and blocked four shots. His 21 rebounds are the most by an Iowa player since Greg Brunner had 23 against Minnesota on January 18, 2006.
Eric Boone and Randy Miller Jr. made back-to-back layups before Alex Caldwell hit a 3-pointer for the Eagles to make it 57-all with 12 minutes to play. Murray scored eight points, including three dunks, as Iowa (3-0) scored 18 of the next 24 points to pull away for good.
Patrick McCaffrey hit a 3-pointer and a layup to spark a 15-0 run , capping the spurt with a dunk that made it 38-23 with 6:24 left in the first half. N.C. Central (0-3) cut its deficit to 49-44 at halftime.
Miller led the Eagles with 15 points, Marque Maultsby added 12 points and eight rebounds and Kris Monroe scored 10 points.
The Hawkeyes shot just 38% from the field, compared to 47% by NCCU, but outrebounded the Eagles 44-31 and outscored them 35-8 from the free-throw line — where Iowa shot 85%.
McCaffrey finished with 15 points, Tony Perkins scored 13 and Ahron Ulis added 12 for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa’s Jordan Bohannan hit a 3-pointer 46 seconds into the game, giving him 374 career 3s made to tie Ohio State’s Jon Diebler (2008-11) for the Big Ten’s all-time record.
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