Krikke scores 20, leads hot-shooting Iowa over Northern Illinois 103-74 for third straight win

Dec 30, 2023, 02:08 am

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- — Ben Krikke scored 20 points to lead six in double figures and Iowa cruised past Northern Illinois 103-74 on Friday night.

Iowa (8-5) has won three straight since its 10-point loss at home to Michigan on Dec. 10. The Hawkeyes, which entered second in the Big Ten and 13th nationally averaging 86.6 points per game, led 93-64 with 8:00 to play. They also surpassed 100 points for the fourth time this season.

Iowa took the lead for good about five minutes into the game and led 54-48 at the break. Krikke scored 16 points with a 3-pointer on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor in the first half. Payton Sandfort scored five points during a 7-0 surge to open the second and the Hawkeyes had a double-digit lead the rest of the way. Pryce Sandfort’s third 3-pointer stretched the lead to 27 points with 11:42 remaining.

Krikke, who entered averaging 16.8 points per game, was 9 of 12 from the floor and has scored in double figures in 11 of 13 games. Payton Sandfort finished with 16 points and Dasonte Bowen added 15 for the Hawkeyes, who shot 50% (42 of 84) from the floor, made eight 3s and 11 of 15 free throws.

Owen Freeman and Pryce Sandfort chipped in 12 points apiece and Tony Perkins had 10 for the Hawkeyes.

David Coit made six 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead Northern Illinois (6-6).

Iowa resumes Big Ten play on Tuesday on the road against No. 23 Wisconsin.

Northern Illinois hosts Akron on Tuesday in a Mid-American Conference opener.

---- Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here ------ AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball