By Hawk Fanatic

Payton Sandfort tested the NBA draft process this past spring, but ultimately decided to return for his senior season to improve his NBA stock, and to help the Iowa men’s basketball team have success.

The 6-foot-7 senior forward from Waukee accomplished both of those things in Saturday’s 95-88 victory over Utah at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Payton Sandfort scored 24 points, including 16 in the second half, and grabbed eight rebound as Iowa overcame a 11-point deficit early in the second half to improve to 9-3 overall.

Iowa now has more than week off before facing New Hampshire in its final nonconference game on Dec. 30 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“I’m just proud of the way we competed and shout out to this crowd in Sioux Falls, it was phenomenal,” Payton Sandfort said on the Learfield post-game radio show. “It carried us at times when we were a little down.”

Iowa improved to 3-1 in games played at the Sanford Pentagon, which has a seating capacity of 3,200.

Iowa, which is 1-1 in Big Ten play, also gained some additional satisfaction by defeating the team that ended its season a year ago in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.

“This is huge,” Payton Sandfort said. “I get to enjoy Christmas with my family. We lost to Eastern Illinois a couple years go. That was a rough Christmas. But this is the first time in my career that we’re going into Big Ten play already with a win in January.”

Iowa had five players scored in double figures in Saturday’s win.

Sophomore forward Pryce Sandfort, who is Payton Sandfort’s younger brother, made a three to give Iowa a 71-69 with 9 minutes left to play, and Iowa would go on to lead for the rest of the game despite sophomore forward Owen Freeman, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder. being on the bench for much of the second half in foul trouble.

“It’s got to be a team effort,” Payton Sandfort said.

Iowa played without sophomore forward Seydou Traore for the fourth time in the last five games apparently due to lingering effects from an ankle injury that he suffered in a win over USC Upstate on Nov. 26 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Since the injury occurred, Traore has only played against Iowa State, playing slightly more than 14 minutes off the bench.

When asked in a press conference this past Thursday if Traore had suffered a setback related to his injury, Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said:

“I guess.”