By Pat Harty

Moline, Illinois – Owen Freeman will forever remember his 20^th birthday, and deservedly so.

Iowa’s sophomore forward scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes to a 76-66 come-from-behind victory over Washington State on Friday before an announced crowd of 8,488 at Vibrant Arena at the Mark.

Freeman moved to Moline for his senior year of high school, and he and Iowa teammate Brock Harding, a sophomore point guard, both helped to lead Moline High School to a state title in 2023.

Their connection to Moline is one of the reasons Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery decided to play a nonconference game at Vibrant Arena.

Freeman was asked after Friday’s victory if he has ever had a better birthday.

“I don’t think so,” he said. ‘This is number one. This takes the cake for sure.”

Freeman was understandably excited to play in Moline, but he got a little carried away in the first half when he was called for a technical foul for taunting after making a basket.

It was Freeman’s second foul, which is why Fran McCaffery kept him on the bench for the final eight minutes of the first half, which ended with Washington State holding a 36-33 lead.

“You kind of saw the energy that I had, maybe a little bit too much in the first half,” Freeman said. “But the Quad Cities showed out and it was just an incredible experience.”

A member of the media in the post-game press conference described Freeman as playing like a man possessed.

Fran McCaffery was then asked if he got a sense of that, too?

“Yeah, I think when he got his T, I think I got a sense of it,” Fran McCaffery said.

The crowd didn’t have much to cheer about until Iowa finally seized the momentum and the lead down the stretch.

Iowa picked up its defensive pressure in the second half and used a suffocating half-court press to rattle the Cougars.

Washington State guard Nate Calmese had been shredding Iowa’s defense on high screen pick-and-rolls until Fran McCaffery decided to double-team the ultra-quick Calmese in the second half.

It was a risky move because it left some Washington State players open on the perimeter.

But the Cougars only made 5-of-28 3-point field-goal attempts.

“He was really hurting us,” Fran McCaffery said of Calmese, who finished with 27 points. “He’s a terrific player. I’ve been really impressed with him on film. They’re doing a good job with running their actions and how they’re setting him up.

“So, we just had to try and take his space way. And the only way you do that with a crafty, bullet-quick guy like that is you’ve got to double him. That’s risky because they have pick-and-pop three-point shooters. They have screen-and-roll guys. They’ve got a really good team.”

Iowa received huge boost from graduate transfer point guard Drew Thelwell, who made two pivotal 3-point baskets in the final minutes. His second trey gave Iowa a 63-62 lead with less than 3 minutes to play.

His three was the start of a 16-4 scoring run that Iowa used to put the game away.

Thelwell transferred to Iowa from Morehead State where he played for four seasons and was the all-time winningest player in program history.

Thelwell, who is from Orlando, Florida, said he relied on his experience to make plays down the stretch in Friday’s game.

“Keeping your nerves and your composure, it definitely helps with these types of situations,” Thelwell said. “I definitely relied on some experience tonight.”

Sophomore forward Seydou Traore, who transferred to Iowa from Manhattan, also provided a significant spark off the bench, especially with his defensive pressure and athleticism down the stretch.

“They bring a ton of energy,” Iowa senior forward Payton Sandfort said of Thelwell and Traore. “Drew knows how to win games. He’s been doing that for four years in college.

“I’m proud of the way he didn’t play a whole lot early in the game and then was still engaged in the game. He was engaged in the huddles and he comes out and makes huge plays defensively and then hitting those threes.”

Thelwell finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists while playing 19 minutes off the bench.

“You need a guy like him that can engineer a victory,” Fran McCaffery said Thelwell. “He started slow throughout the summer. He just kept getting better. He just kept grinding.”

Iowa needed someone to step up because starting junior guard Josh Dix had a rough game, scoring just two points in 23 minutes.

Fran McCaffery said afterwards that Dix just wasn’t himself after injuring his wrist in the first half.

“He took a spill in the first half and hurt his wrist,” Fran McCaffery said. “He tried to play, and he didn’t have it. He’s as tough a guy as I’ve ever been around.

“So, if he can’t go, he can’t go. Somebody else has to go.”

Iowa was stagnant on offense for much of the first half, which ended with Washington State holding a 36-33 lead.

Iowa committed 10 turnovers in the first half and only made 12-of-28 field-goal attempts, including 3-of-9 from 3-point range.

The Hawkeyes also trailed for long stretches in the second half before rallying down.

This kind of gritty performance could be beneficial as the level of competition continues to improve.

“I’m really proud of the way we did grind that out,” said Payton Sandfort, who finished with 18 points and six rebounds. “A huge shout out to the crowd. I thought that was absolutely huge in that.

“When Drew hit those threes, it was some of the loudest that I’ve heard in my college career.”

Iowa improved to 4-0 with the win, while the Cougars fell to 3-1.

Iowa isn’t known for its defensive tenacity under Fran McCaffery, but it was defense that made the difference down the stretch against a team that was averaging about 90 points per game.

“I think their pressure was really impressive,” said first-year Washington State head David Riley. “I thought they had some unique things they did off our ball screens. We hadn’t seen too much pressure like that.”

Riley was also impressed with Freeman’s all-around performance.

“He’s really, really skilled down there,” Riley said of Freeman, who missed Iowa’s previous game due to an illness. “His pump fakes and his pivots down there are impressive. We were ready for it. That was the game plan is all his pivots and pump fakes, and I thought he did a heck of job just impacting the game with his rebounding and his physicality.”