Northridge Races to Early Lead but Is Eventually Overwhelmed

Andre Woolridge scored 21 points and Ryan Bowen added 18 points and 14 rebounds as Iowa pulled away in the second half to beat Cal State Northridge, 90-65, Sunday.

Playing aggressive man-to-man defense, Northridge (4-6) stayed with Iowa early and led by as many as five points in the first half.

But Iowa (9-3), tuning up for its Big Ten opener with Northwestern on Thursday, scored the final eight points of the half to go up, 41-34, then used two big second-half runs to break it open.

Iowa also did a better job of handling the ball in the second half, turning it over only four times after committing 16 turnovers in the first half.

With Iowa leading, 54-46, Woolridge scored on a drive to start a 15-5 run that Kent McCausland capped with a three-point basket, making it, 69-51, with 7:53 left. Woolridge drove for two other baskets during that stretch and J.R. Koch raced down the middle for a rim-bending, two-handed dunk.

Derrick Higgins led Northridge with 25 points, and Kevin Taylor and Gerald Rhoden each scored 13.