IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Midway through the second half, an Iowa fan won a half-court challenge with a swish at the buzzer. The Hawkeyes’ hot shooting must have been contagious. Freshman Joe Wieskamp matched a career high with 24 points and No. 23 Iowa shot 68 percent from the field in routing Illinois 95-71 on Sunday for its fifth straight victory.

Isaiah Moss scored a season-high 21 points and Luka Garza added 20 for the Hawkeyes (16-3, 5-3 Big Ten), who shot 34 of 50 from the field to set a record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They hit 12 of their first 14 3-point attempts and 15 overall to blow past the young but talented Fighting Illini (5-13, 1-6). Iowa shot 68.4 percent in the first half to jump ahead 39-24. Moss, Jordan Bohannon and Wieskamp then buried consecutive 3s to open the second half, and Moss capped that blistering run with a contested 3 near the Iowa bench to make it a 68-45 game.

Wieskamp and Moss combined to go 10 for 10 on 3s during that stretch. Iowa nearly broke the school record for 3-point percentage in a game, set 21 years ago at 75 percent against Northwestern, but walk-on Austin Ash missed a 30-footer in garbage time. The Hawkeyes finished 15 of 21 (71.4 percent) beyond the arc.

The Hawkeyes, who were languishing in the Big Ten cellar after starting 0-3, have a chance to make a major statement when sixth-ranked Michigan State visits on Thursday. Given how well Iowa has been playing lately, the Spartans should have cause for concern — even though they blasted Iowa 90-68 on Dec. 3. Beating Illinois won’t do much for Iowa’s ranking, but the Hawkeyes likely will move up a few spots because of losses by other teams at the back end of the poll.

Iowa hosts the Spartans on Thursday.

Multiple media outlets reported last week that Harlan Athletic Director and Boy’s Basketball Coach Mitch Osborn will retire following this school year. Osborn will leave as one of the all-time best basketball coaches in the state. He currently has a career record of 687-160 and is 4th on the wins list in Iowa history. Osborn’s teams have won three state championships; Pomeroy-Palmer in 1994 and at Harlan in 2004 and 2006. He is one of a handful of coaches to lead three different schools to the state tournament including the two previously mentioned title teams along with Elk Horn-Kimballton.

Osborn was diagnosed nearly five years ago with mantle cell lymphoma. He told other media outlets that his health is doing well right now and that’s why he wants to step away to spend more time with his family.

The first ever IWCOA Girls State Wrestling Championships were held on Saturday at Waverly-Shell Rock High School. The host school took the team title with 144 points. Three from the KJAN listening area finished as Runners-Up at their respective weight classes. Olivia Diggins of Logan-Magnolia was 2nd at 132. Maddison Buffman of Missouri Valley finished second at 138. Iliana Yanes of Riverside was 2nd at 285. Full results below.

2019 IWCOA GIrls State

The Atlantic/CAM wrestling team ran away with the condensed one-day John J. Harris Invitational on Saturday. The Trojans scored 224.5 points to outpace the field by 75 points. The Trojans had three individual champs: Joe Weaver (120), Chase McLaren (138), and Cale Roller (220). The Trojans also had three runners-up. Here’s a look at the full results.

2019 John J. Harris Invitational

Bishop Heelan won their home wrestling invitational on Saturday. Lewis Central and Logan-Magnolia finished 2nd and 3rd with some strong individual finishes.

2019 Heelan Invite

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — Derrik Smits finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and Valparaiso turned back Northern Iowa 75-66 on Saturday.

Smits sank 9 of 18 from the floor to help the Crusaders (12-7, 5-1 Missouri Valley Conference) shoot 51 percent for the game (26 of 51). Bakari Evelyn came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers and score 14, while Markus Golder added 13 points and six boards. Valparaiso had a 34-20 rebound advantage and that led to a 14-4 edge in second-chance points.

Valparaiso also outscored the Panthers (8-11, 3-3) 34-14 in the paint.
Freshman AJ Green made all 10 of his free throws and scored 25 to pace Northern Iowa. Luke McDonnell scored 14 with five rebounds and three assists.

Golder scored all of his points in the first half to help the Crusaders take a 36-30 lead at intermission. NIU trailed 52-48 after McDonnell’s 3-pointer with 9:58 left to play, but Evelyn’s 3-pointer capped a 6-0 run and Valparaiso kept it a two-possession game from there. The Panthers shot 44 percent from the floor, but made just 7 of 24 from distance (29 percent).

AMES, Iowa (AP) — The Lindell Wigginton and Cam Lard that Iowa State had hoped to see all season finally showed up on Saturday, giving the Cyclones the hope that last year’s stars are ready to play bigger roles down the stretch.

Marial Shayok scored 20 points and the Cyclones beat the Cowboys 72-59, sweeping the season series .

Wigginton had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and Lard added 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks in just 14 minutes for the Cyclones (14-4, 4-2 Big 12), who forced 15 turnovers and used a late 13-2 run to hold off the Cowboys.

“I feel like I’m starting to get into a rhythm,” said Wigginton, who has been coming off the bench after battling a foot injury last month. “It’s been tough with my situation … but my teammates and my coaches just told me to stick with it — and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

After letting Oklahoma State creep to within five, Shayok followed a jumper with a wide-open corner 3 to give Iowa State a 59-47 lead with 5:30 left. Shayok buried another 3, this one contested, to push the Cyclones’ lead to 13 with 3:49 to go.
Iowa State also didn’t turn the ball over in the second half and finished with just six.

“I’m happy for (Wigginton), because we need him and Cameron to be at their best,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said.
Cameron McGriff scored 17 points and Lindy Waters had 14 to lead Oklahoma State (8-10, 2-4), which dropped its second straight game. The Cowboys opened the second half on an 11-2 run after falling behind by 11, but they didn’t get any closer.

“I thought it was a competitive game for the most part,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said. “When you’re down men, you can’t lose the 50-50 battle, which we did, and didn’t have a chance, really, to put much pressure on them when we missed some free throws down the stretch.”

UP NEXT
Iowa State plays at No. 7 Kansas on Monday. The Jayhawks should have plenty of motivation after losing to West Virginia earlier Saturday.

Oklahoma State hosts Oklahoma on Wednesday.

The Harlan wrestling team finished 4th at the Plattsmouth, NE Invite on Saturday.

The Cyclones were led by runner-up finishes by Oscar Olmos (145) and Derec Weyer (285).

Team Scoring

1. Millard South 252.5
2. Blair 200
3. GI Northwest 187
4. Harlan 149.5
5. Plattsmouth 142
6. Seward 108
7. Bellevue East 97.5
8. Elkhorn 83
9. Ralston 83
10. Auburn 74.5
11. Lincoln High 60
12. Fairbury 55.5

The Underwood wrestling team picked up a team title at the Louisville, NE Invite on Saturday. Underwood had five individual champions at the event. Winners for the Eagles were Steve Barnes (106), Logan James (132), Nick Hamilton (138), Blake Thomsen, (145), and Michael Baker (160). AHSTW finished 3rd in the team race and were led by runner-up finishes from Ben Ehlers at 138 and Jaeden Rasmussen at 145.

Team Scoring

1. Underwood 236
2. Battle Creek, NE 173
3. AHSTW 154
4. Sutton, NE 150
5. Norris, NE 143.5
6. Weeping Water, NE 131
7. Wilber-Clatonia, NE 123.5
8. Malcom, NE 121.5
9. J.C.C., NE 113
10. Louisville, NE 94.5
11. HTRS-PC, NE 68
12. Harvard, NE 51