Koch, Stirtz key in 21-0 run, send Iowa to 75-64 win over Maryland in Big Ten Tournament’s 2nd round
CHICAGO (AP) — Cooper Koch scored a career-high 19 points, Bennett Stirtz added 17 and the pair fueled a run of 21 straight points to help send Iowa to a 75-64 win over Maryland in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.
Koch made 5 of 8 3-point attempts and Stirtz had eight assists and a team-high six rebounds for the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (21-11), who snapped a three-game losing streak and will take on eighth-seeded Ohio State in a quarterfinal Thursday. Tavion Banks added 12 points and Cam Manyawu 10.
Darius Adams led the No. 17-seeded Terrapins (12-21) with 14 points. Isaiah Watts made four 3s for his 12 points and David Coit also scored 12 points. Solomon Washington grabbed 13 rebounds.
Koch hit a trio of 3-pointers and Stirtz — who had missed his first seven from the arc — added two more in the 21-0 run that ended with Iowa ahead 51-34 eight minutes into the second half.
Maryland rallied to get the deficit down to nine but Koch hit his fifth 3 to put the lead back into double figures where it remained for the final 6 1/2 minutes.
Watts came off the bench in the first half to make three 3-pointers and the Terrapins sank six straight shots in a 15-0 run for a 21-10 lead. But the Terrapins made just one of their last 12 shots — including nine misses from beyond the 3-point line — over the final eight minutes. Iowa took advantage, outscoring the Terrapins 15-5 to cut the deficit to 26-25.
Up next
Iowa beat Ohio State at home 74-57 on Feb. 25 in the teams’ only regular-season meeting.
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