By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Carl Landry finished with 29 points and seven rebounds and almost single-handedly kept Purdue in the game long enough to get some help from the Boilermakers defense to hold on for a 66-63 victory over Iowa Wednesday night.
Landry dominated the first half, making 8 of 9 shots, scoring 19 points and grabbing six rebounds. He finished 11-of-15 from the field, including his fourth 3-pointer of the season.
But after drawing his fourth foul with 6:49 left, the Boilermakers (7-15, 3-8 Big Ten) were forced to rally from a 55-50 deficit without him. They did by limiting the Hawkeyes to just two baskets the rest of the way for their third straight home win.
Iowa (16-8, 4-7) was led by Greg Brunner with 19 points and 10 rebounds and lost another close game on the road in Big Ten play. The Hawkeye are 0-5 in conference road games.
The Hawkeyes appeared to have control after scoring six straight points to take a 55-48 lead with 8:05 left.
And when Landry went to the bench, things looked bleak for Purdue.
But the Boilermakers charged back by scoring seven straight and retook the lead on Brandon McKnight’s 15-foot baseline jumper with 3:48 left. After Brunner made 1 of 2 free throws, David Teague hit a 3-pointer to give the Boilermakers a 60-56 lead with 1:47 left.
Iowa got within 62-60 and 64-63 in the final 10 seconds, but McKnight hit four straight free throws to seal the victory.
The Hawkeyes had a chance to send it to overtime, but Adam Haluska’s shot from just inside half-court was an airball.
McKnight finished with 16 points, including 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.