By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
Iowa Wins, Starts Season 1-0:
Iowa pulled away from North Carolina Central for a 97-67 victory in their season opener last night.
National Player of the Year Candidate Luka Garza had 26 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, while Patrick McCaffery added 16 points.
Keegan Murray chipped in 12 points off the bench and CJ Fredrick had 10 for Iowa.
The Hawkeyes, now 1-0, will take on Southern tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m. — due to the Hawkeye football game there will be no radio for that contest.
Drake Upsets K-State in Season Opening Shocker:
Garrett Sturtz came off the bench to score 15 points, secure 10 rebounds and nab four steals leading Drake to an 80-70 upset victory over Kansas State yesterday afternoon.
Tremell Murphy, who finished with 12 points, and Shaquan Hemphill (10) also scored in double digits for the Bulldogs.
Mike McGuirl scored 22 points and DaJuan Gordon had 15 for Kansas State.
Drake will take on the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State tomorrow afternoon.
Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
Iowa State Women Roll to Easy Win:
The No. 15 Iowa State women’s basketball team (1-0) was dominant in a 69-43 season-opening victory over Omaha (0-1) at Hilton Coliseum yesterday afternoon.
Ashley Joens, a member of the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, tallied a game-high 25 points, to go with seven rebounds to lead Iowa State.
The win was the first for Jodi Steyer as ISU’s acting head coach, as Steyer has assumed the duties temporarily with head coach Bill Fennelly currently in quarantine protocol after being exposed to COVID-19.
Iowa State will hoop up with South Dakota State on Saturday, next.
Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
Cyclone’s Allen Named Courage Award Nominee:
Iowa State’s Chase Allen is this week’s nominee for the 2020 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award the school has announced.
Allen has overcome a number of physical setbacks both on and off the field, including being hit by a car, to become a key starter for the No. 15 Cyclones.
While walking to the football complex during the summer of his freshman year in 2016, Allen was hit by a car. He needed 107 stitches after shattering the windshield of the vehicle. Once he recovered, just before that season, he had a bout with the mumps, which then led to viral meningitis.
He lost 20 pounds from the toll that the infection took on his body.
The 6-foot-7, 240-pound tight end went on to play in all 13 games and start nine as a redshirt freshman in 2017, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. The following season, in 2018, Allen was forced to miss five games because of an abdominal injury.
Allen has started five games in his redshirt senior season this fall, recording 13 receptions for 173 yards and two touchdowns for the 6-2 Cyclones, who travel to No. 20 Texas for a Friday morning tilt. Iowa State has started 6-1 in conference play for the first time in program history.