IOWA CITY — It was late in the first half of Thursday’s contest between Iowa and Southern that Pryce Sandfort became acutely aware that this was, so to speak, his night.

With the shot clock running down, point guard Brock Harding got caught in the air as he tried to salvage the possession and flung a desperation pass to Sandfort in the corner. Pryce Sandfort corralled the low delivery and let a 3-pointer rip before the shot clock sounded.

“It felt really good,” Sandfort recalled. “And it was money. So that’s probably when I was like, yeah, it’s my night.”

For a while, Sandfort was pitching the basketball equivalent of a perfect game. It wasn’t until a little more than five minutes left in the game — after eight makes from the field, including six from deep — that Sandfort missed his first shot.

It was, Sandfort confirmed after the game, like blacking out. 

“Yeah, pretty much,” Sandfort said. “Obviously, I’m not trying to force — still get good shots. But every time I was going up in that zone, it felt like it was going in. So it feels good.”

Sandfort did end up missing shots — only two to be exact. But his final stat line was still remarkably efficient. He finished the night with a career-high 22 points on 8-of-10 from the field and 6-of-8 from deep, plus four rebounds off the bench in Iowa’s 89-74 victory.

Two games into the 2024-25 regular season, the sophomore is quickly emerging as a serious weapon for the Hawkeyes.

“He’s been playing like that,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “He really has been since the summer. Really consistently shooting the ball well, consistently playing well at both ends. Been much more aggressive driving the ball, making plays.

Video: Fran McCaffery discusess Iowa’s win over Southern University

Fran McCaffery discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Southern University on Thursday.

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Named 2023 Iowa Mr. Basketball as a senior at Waukee Northwest, Pryce Sandfort’s game did not immediately translate in his freshman season for the Hawkeyes. There were clear growing pains in the transition to the college level as Sandfort played sparingly and was just a limited factor.

That sparked a change behind the scenes. Sandfort suggested that he move to scout team during practice in hopes of playing more freely. McCaffery said this isn’t unheard of — a player desiring to transition to scout team — but it is a rarity.

“He just got back to being who he is,” McCaffery said. “The guy was Mr. Basketball for a reason. He was the best player in the state. And he was trying to fit in. He was a freshman and trying to be solid. It’s like, dude, you need to go make plays, you need to be aggressive, you need to drive the ball, you need to impact the game with your length, with your size, with your shooting.”

Sandfort showed small doses of what he could do toward the end of last season. During a stretch in February, he made 5-of-8 3-pointers during Big Ten play.

That set the stage for the offseason. Sandfort added some weight to his lanky 6-foot-7 frame. At Iowa basketball’s media day, McCaffery raved about the way Sandfort had been shooting leading up to his sophomore season.

In a small sample size, that is already being validated. Sandfort scored 11 in Iowa’s exhibition against Minnesota Duluth, all of which came in the second half. He set a then-career-high 13 points in Monday’s regular-season opener against Texas A&M-Commerce. That didn’t last long as Sandfort shattered his record yet again with the 22-point outing against Southern on Thursday.

To fellow sophomore Owen Freeman, the way Sandfort is playing isn’t exactly a surprise. What Sandfort has done out of the public eye is now coming to light.

“I kinda got to see it all last year,” Freeman said. “He helped us with scout, so he kinda killed us when he was on the scout team, too. I’ve been seeing it for a while.”

Owen Freeman: Iowa needs to take ‘more pride in getting stops’ defensively

Owen Freeman discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Southern University on Thursday.

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If this can be sustained — and that remains a big if — it would be a meaningful development for Iowa.

The Hawkeyes’ success this season hinges not only on the play of the big three — Payton Sandfort, Owen Freeman and Josh Dix — but also an ability to get contributions outside of them.

Iowa did so on Thursday.

Payton Sandfort, Owen Freeman and Josh Dix combined for 46 points. But the Hawkeyes also got 35 bench points, 22 of which came via Pryce Sandfort and 12 of which were delivered by Morehead State transfer Drew Thelwell. Pryce Sandfort and Drew Thelwell have now scored in double figures in each of Iowa’s first two games.

More: Iowa men’s basketball puts on impressive shooting display in win over Southern

The glamor of Iowa’s 18 made 3-pointers — one-third of them by Pryce Sandfort — was somewhat dampened by an uninspiring end to the game. Iowa, which led by 25 points with a little more than three minutes remaining, let Southern finish the game on a 10-0 run, making the final score appear less decisive. Freeman was adamant after the game that Iowa needs to take more pride in getting stops defensively.

Iowa is still clearly a work in progress — as many teams are at this point in the season. But the more storylines to materialize like that of Pryce Sandfort, the brighter the future looks for the Hawkeyes.

“It feels really good,” Pryce Sandfort said. “I’ve pictured these moments in my head all throughout last year and in the offseason. So now that it’s here, it feels really good that all that hard work paid off.”

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com

IOWA CITY — Iowa men’s basketball put on an efficient offensive display in its 89-74 win over Southern University on Thursday.

Iowa did not shoot particularly well in the regular-season opener Monday but was scorching hot on Thursday. Against Southern, the Hawkeyes shot 53.3% from the field and 45% from deep. Meanwhile, Southern shot 47.7% from the field and 31.6% from three.

Seven Hawkeyes hit at least one 3-pointer. Iowa made 18 3-pointers as a team.

Iowa got scoring from a variety of players, including five in double-figures: Payton Sandfort, Pryce Sandfort, Owen Freeman, Drew Thelwell and Josh Dix.

Through two games this season, Pryce Sandfort has been an offensive weapon for Iowa. He followed up his 13-point outing against Texas A&M-Commerce with a team-high 22 points on Thursday. The sophomore was an efficient 8-of-10 from the field, including 6-of-8 from deep. 

“He’s been playing like that. He really has been since the summer,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said of Pryce Sandfort. “Really consistently shooting the ball well, consistently playing well at both ends. Been much more aggressive driving the ball, making plays.

Video: Fran McCaffery discusess Iowa’s win over Southern University

Fran McCaffery discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Southern University on Thursday.

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Payton Sandfort, who flirted with a triple-double against Texas A&M-Commerce, was in that neighborhood again on Thursday. He finished the game with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He did commit six turnovers, however.

Reigning Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year Owen Freeman added 15 points and eight rebounds and three blocks on Thursday.

Iowa got off to a much better start on Thursday than it did against Texas A&M-Commerce. The Hawkeyes led by only seven points at halftime Monday and it took until the second half to gain some more substantial separation.

Against Southern, Iowa came out in much more decisive fashion. The Hawkeyes led by as many as 16 in the first half and, even though they hit a lull, held an 11-point advantage at the break.

The Hawkeyes were in pretty clear control for a majority of the contest. Iowa led by 25 with a little more than three minutes remaining but closed the contest in unimpressive fashion, making the final score tighter than it should’ve been.

“I just think we just need to take some more pride in getting stops,” Freeman said. “Because we were up (25). In Big Ten play we might not be up (25). We could be down nine and one of those stops could be huge. So we kinda got to think ahead to the future.”

Owen Freeman: Iowa needs to take ‘more pride in getting stops’ defensively

Owen Freeman discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Southern University on Thursday.

Iowa went with the same starting lineup as it did in the exhibition in the regular-season opener: Brock Harding, Josh Dix, Payton Sandfort, Ladji Dembele and Freeman.

Dembele had five points and eight rebounds. Dix scored 14. Harding had three points and six assists.

Along with Pryce Sandfort, Drew Thewell was very good off the bench for the second consecutive game. Thelwell, a Morehead State transfer, pitched in 12 points on 3-of-7 from deep.

Video: Pryce Sandfort talks career-high 22 points in win over Southern

Pryce Sandfort discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Southern University on Thursday.

Manhattan transfer Seydou Traore missed his second consecutive game due to injury. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery previously described it as a “bum wheel,” but did not seem concerned about it being a long-term issue. Traore’s blend of size and athleticism made him an intriguing offseason addition but his regular-season debut at Iowa continues to be put on hold.

McCaffery was optimistic postgame that Traore will make his Iowa debut on Tuesday.

Iowa plays one more lower-level opponent before taking a step up in competition. The Hawkeyes host South Dakota on Tuesday, but then face Washington State on Friday in Moline, Illinois. The game in the Quad Cities will serve as a homecoming for Freeman and Harding, who won a 4A state championship at Moline High School together as seniors.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com

CORALVILLE — Both Bishop Heelan and Pella volleyball were battle-tested heading into the Class 4A Iowa high school state volleyball tournament championship match.

Bishop Heelan and Pella both played over 40 games on the season, setting them up to play through any potential adversity.

Ultimately, the biggest beneficiary of that was Bishop Heelan as it rolled to a state title sweep in three sets (25-10, 25-13 and 25-17) at Xtream Arena on Thursday afternoon. This is Bishop Heelan’s fourth state title in volleyball and the program’s first since 2007.

More: Iowa high school state volleyball tournament 2024: Scores, bracket updates daily

“We came into the match ready to play,” senior setter Maddie LaFleur said. “We knew that we only had one game and we’re going to give it all we had, leave it on the court.”

The Crusaders opened with a dominant 25-10 in the first set. The offense was incredibly efficient behind LeFluer, who assisted on all 13 of Bishop Heelan’s kills in the set. While Ava Lloyd and Maliyah Hacker each had five kills, four different Crusaders posted kills in the set, showing LeFluer’s efficiency in distributing the ball.

In the second set, Bishop Heelan’s efficiency continued. With 14 kills in the set, the Crusaders had just four total errors in the second frame. That was in comparison to Pella’s 10, gifting the Crusaders an additional 10 tallies on the scoreboard in a set they were already dominating of offense.

Pella continued to improve throughout the matchup, but Bishop Heelan’s dominance ultimately was too much to overcome. The Crusaders rolled in the third set as well, winning it 25-17 with 17 kills among the team to cap off a dominant tournament.

In total, Lloyd and Hacker combined for 34 kills and just four errors. LaFluer had 36 of the team’s 44 assists. Between the three, they had 38 of the squads’ 59 digs.

More: Pleasant Valley defeats Waukee Northwest to claim Class 5A Iowa state volleyball title

The second-seeded Crusaders did not concede a single set in three matches during the tournament and defeated the 2023 state champions, North Scott, along the way.

Bishop Heelan head coach Lauren Boatman pointed to the senior leadership of LaFleur and Hacker in particular for the success. Both of them came into the season intending to put the Crusaders back on top in the state of Iowa.

“I think it goes back to Maddie and Maliyah being great leaders on and off the court, keeping everybody focused all week long,” Boatman said. “It was great to see.”

Pella has a lot to be proud of this season, finishing 41-8 and making the state tournament for the first time since 2018, making the state title match in head coach Joel Allman’s first season.

“This group is just such a special group of people,” Allman said. “They spread so much light in this world and I’m glad the state got to see them up here this whole week.”

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.