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By JAMES ALLAN
hawkeyesports.com
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue put up 52 points in the first half en route to an 86-70 victory over the 20th-ranked University of Iowa men’s basketball team on Thursday night inside Mackey Arena.
The Boilermakers shot 63.3 percent in the first half by having a 24-4 advantage in points in the paint.
After Iowa took a 15-14 lead on a Tyler Cook dunk at the 12:58 mark, Purdue reeled off five straight points to take a 19-15 advantage.
Following a Nicholas Baer jumper that cut the deficit to 19-17, Purdue scored nine of 10 points to push its lead to 28-18.
“We lost it a little bit when they got hot early in the first half,” said Cook.
The Boilermakers took a 52-35 lead into the locker room before Iowa scored the first five points of the second half to close the margin to 12. Purdue followed with an 11-0 run to break the game open.
The Hawkeyes fought, closing the game on a 12-2 run, but they still lost by 16.
Iowa shot 48 percent (24-of-50) for the game and 52 percent in the second half. The Hawkeyes made six 3-pointers and went 16-of-19 from the free throw line.
Cook led all scorers with 24 points, making 9-of-16 field goals and 6-of-7 free throws. Junior Isaiah Moss scored 13 points, while junior Ryan Kriener added 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting and made all four of his free throws.
Purdue’s Carsen Edwards led the Boilermakers with 21 points, while 7-foot-3 center Matt Haarms scored 14. Purdue’s reserves out-scored its Iowa counterparts, 39-10.
QUOTING HEAD COACH FRAN MCCAFFERY
“We did a lot of good things in the second half, held them to 43 percent. Tyler was terrific the whole game. We got into heavy foul trouble with everybody with two, but you can’t give them 63 percent in the first half. Our defense wasn’t what it needed to be, that said, Isaiah Moss did a terrific job on Carsen Edwards.
“The problem at the other end was we executed at times and didn’t execute at times. We quick shot it. They put a lot of heat on you, the crowd is into the game, and all of a sudden we’re quick shooting the ball. We need longer possessions and when we did that, we got good shots, got fouled, got to the free throw line, and were in the double bonus in the second half.
“There were good things, but we can’t let it get away from us in the first half.”
WORTH NOTING
- The Hawkeyes played their third straight game without sophomore center Luka Garza.
- After getting outscored 24-4 in the paint in the first half, Iowa closed the gap to 42-30 for the game.
- Cook notched his third 20-point game of the season. He has scored 15 or more points in eight straight games.
- Kriener reached double figures for the second time this season.
- Purdue score 23 points off of 14 Iowa turnovers.
ON THE HORIZON
The Hawkeyes return to action Sunday, hosting No. 24 Nebraska at 4:30 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
