SOUIX FALLS, S.D. — Iowa’s defense was smothering, and Utah did little to help itself on offense by starting the game shooting just 12.5% from the floor.

It was another first-half slow start against a Quad 1 opponent this season.

But unlike in previous Quad 1 games, where Utah allowed the opposing team run away with an early double-digit lead, the Runnin’ Utes fought back. And it was Mason Madsen, who earned his first start of the season, who provided the game-changing spark.

Madsen got a defensive rebound, and then hit a 3-pointer on the other end to open up three straight 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give Utah its first lead of the game.

From there, Utah found its offense to control a 4-point lead at the halftime break before building up the lead to 10 in the second half.

Iowa didn’t back down, though, and slowly chipped away at the lead before eventually pulling away for a 95-88 win at the Sanford Pentagon in the Utah’s final nonconference game of the season.

Madsen finished with 24 points, including going 6-of-11 from 3-point range, six rebounds and four assists, but it wasn’t enough to contend with Iowa’s offensive attack late. Lawson Lovering added 25 points, four rebounds and two assists in the loss.

Iowa forward Payton Sandfort led the charge in the second half and contributed a team-high 24 points and seven rebounds, while four other Iowa players finished in double-digit scoring.

Utah opened up the game shooting just 1-of-8 from the field as Iowa took an early 9-2 lead that was also helped by a defense that forced the Utes into late-shot situations and poor looks. Little by little, Utah found a way to get back into the game, largely by Madsen’s hot shooting and Lovering’s strong post play.

Less than two minutes into the second half, Ezra Ausar hit two free throws to give the Utes a team-high 11-point lead. Over the next five minutes, Iowa slowly chipped away at Utah’s lead and made it a 4-point game with 14:13 left to play.

Utah made only 2 points over the next three minutes as Iowa cut the lead to a single possession before Drew Thelwell hit a 3-pointer with 10:47 left for the go-ahead score. Once Iowa reclaimed the lead, there was little Utah could do over the final 10 minutes of game time to stop the Hawkeyes’ lead from growing.

Owen Freeman, the team’s leading scorer who averages 17.2 points per game, got into foul trouble and was forced to sit for much of the game — including picking up a fourth foul with just under 11 minutes to play — but finished with 16 points, six rebounds and two assists, while adding three blocks in just 19 minutes of play.

Thelwell and Josh Nix added 15 points apiece, and Brock Harding contributed 12 points to round out Iowa’s top scoring.

Utah closes out nonconference play with an 8-3 record, with all three losses coming against Quad 1 opponents. The Utes resume action on Dec. 31 in Waco, Texas, to start Big 12 play against Baylor.