Brock Harding’s dozen dimes help fill Hawkeyes’ meter in 103-81 win over UMBC

IOWA CITY -- Freshman guard Brock Harding says he doesn’t keep track of his stats, so he doesn’t know if his 12 assists Wednesday night marked a personal-best.

He knew when he had eight of them in Iowa’s 103-81 win over UMBC before an announced crowd of 8,357 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, though. Senior teammate Tony Perkins told him. How Perkins knew isn’t clear, but players know if they want to know.

“Today, when he eight (points) and eight (assists), I told him ‘When you get in there, I told him score your two, and get then get two assists.”

Harding got his two points, got the two assists, then got two more assists. It was a 10-point, 12-assist, 4-steal game. After answering reporters’ questions, Harding returned to the Carver court to get more shots up.

UMBC Retrievers guard Ashton Reese (15) tries to stop Iowa Hawkeyes guard Tony Perkins (11) as he reaches down to get control of the loose ball in the second half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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You may have read it here before, and you’re reading it here again. This kid can play. No Hawkeye has had as many assists in a game since Jordan Bohannon’s 14 in January 2021.

Lackluster defense combined with good shooting by UMBC (5-9) kept the Retrievers of Maryland, Baltimore County in the game for a while. In fact, it was tied with five minutes left in the first half.

Perkins and Harding keyed a blitz, and Iowa was up 50-36 at the break. The lead got as big as 28 points.

Perkins had a season-high 23 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Harding had a steal that he turned into a set-up for a second-half Perkins dunk. About three minutes later, Perkins swiped the ball and returned the favor to his younger friend.

You’ll be seeing a lot more of Harding at point guard, and this won’t be his only double-digit assist game.

“We’ve got so many guys that are so good off the ball cutting, back cuts. That opens up threes, opens up layups. So many cutters. That just makes my job so much easier.

“Great cutters, great players. It’s just so much fun to play with them.”

Iowa had some sharp-looking team stats like 50 percent shooting, 33 assists, a 47-36 rebounding edge, and a season-low four turnovers. It wasn’t a game Hawkeyes Coach Fran McCaffery was crazy about, however.

“Our defense was not good at the start of the game at all,” McCaffery said. “Once we got up 25, our defense softened like it was at the start of the game.”

So Iowa is 7-5 for Christmas, with the next game not until Dec. 29 against Northern Illinois here. Six of the seven wins came against mid-majors.

Christmas cheer can come from the possibility Harding and center Owen Freeman have just begun on Iowa careers with great promise.

Harding, McCaffery said, “is an incredible competitor. He’s got a tremendous mind for the game. And he truly understands what is needed at any given time.

“He knew we needed to get some stops, get some run-outs, hit some cutters, get some lay-ups, get to the free throw line. We were in the double-bonus pretty early because he was driving the ball.

“You had a bunch of guys in double-figures because of him.”

Payton Sandfort had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Krikke had 17 and 12. Patrick McCaffery had 14 points.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com