Hawkeyes Stun No. 6 Purdue

March 5, 2011

Box Score

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Senior Jarryd Cole closed out his home Hawkeye career in style, leading the University of Iowa men’s basketball team to a 67-65 victory over No. 6 Purdue Saturday afternoon on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“He was phenomenal, and it was right from the beginning,” said UI head coach Fran McCaffery of Cole’s performance. “He established how we were going to play effort-wise.

“For us to beat a team that’s ranked in the top 10, I need everybody to contribute to their capabilities. They don’t have to play perfect basketball, but they have to play up to their capabilities and contribute in a positive way.”

And contribute they did. Cole, who was recognized prior to the game for Senior Day, posted his seventh career double-double, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He was one of four Hawkeyes in double digits, along with Matt Gatens and Bryce Cartwright, who finished with 13 points apiece, and Melsahn Basabe added 11.

Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-23 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds. Lewis Jackson netted 13 points, while E’Twaun Moore added 11.

After battling the Boilermakers to a 36 all tie at the half, Iowa used a 12-6 run over the first four and a half minutes of the second half to build a 48-42 advantage. During the stretch, Cartwright came up limp around the 18-minute mark and was out of action for nearly 11 minutes.

“I thought he was done,” said McCaffery. “At first I thought he really turned his ankle, but it was cramps. It took awhile, but they (trainers) got him able to play. He made a big shot down the stretch and handled the ball.”

The Hawkeyes maintained their advantage despite Cartwright’s absence, as the squad led 53-48 with 11:34 remaining. Purdue wouldn’t go away, as it used back-to-back 3-pointers by Ryne Smith and D.J. Byrd to grab a 56-55 advantage with 4:42 left.

“Purdue kept coming,” said McCaffery. “They made big plays and big shots, it wasn’t like they rolled over. We had to keep doing the same thing, and it was different players at different times. I think that’s what makes this win so enjoyable.”

Cole immediately answered with a jumper at the 4:15 mark to put Iowa back on top, and Basabe followed with a put back dunk to give the Hawkeyes the 59-56 lead with 3:40 remaining. The Boilermakers kept coming, but every time they scored, Iowa had an answer.

Following a Lewis Jackson free throw that made the score 59-57, Gatens’ lay-up gave Iowa the 61-57 lead. On the next trip down the floor Johnson made a pair of free throws to pull Purdue to within a field goal (61-59), but Cole connected on a jumper from the elbow to again make it a two possession game.

After a Jackson lay-up trimmed the deficit to two (63-61), Cartwright converted a jumper with 29.5 seconds remaining to again put some distance between the two squads. Cartwright’s jumper hit the back of the rim, bounced straight up and down through the net to give the Hawkeyes the 65-61 advantage.

Jackson again diced his way through the Iowa defense to get his squad to within two with 11.6 remaining, but Gatens iced the game with two free throws with 6.5 seconds left to send Iowa to the win.

The Hawkeyes snapped a string of 25 straight Iowa losses to nationally-ranked foes with the victory. The program’s last win over a ranked foe came against No. 6 Michigan State on Jan. 12, 2008.

“It’s huge, we were playing for Jarryd out there,” said Gatens. “To get this for Jarryd and to finish our regular season out on top is a big plus for us.”

The Boilermakers jumped out to a 17-10 lead over the first seven minutes of the contest, as Iowa made four of its first 14 shot attempts. The Hawkeyes then scored 13 of the next 20 points to climb to within a point, as Cole scored seven points, and Cartwright’s 3-pointer made the score 24-23 with 7:13 left in the half.

Purdue stretched its advantage back to five points on a Johnson dunk at the 5:40 mark. The Hawkeyes fought back to even the tally at 34 on a Zach McCabe 3-pointer, and the two teams ended the half tied at 36.

Iowa heads to Indianapolis for the 2011 Big Ten Tournament Thursday. The Hawkeyes will play either Penn State or Michigan State in their opening game at Conseco Fieldhouse.