Hawkeyes Fall at No. 5 Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team fell to No. 5 Purdue, 79-72, on Wednesday night at Mackey Arena in a game that featured nine ties and 14 lead changes. The Hawkeyes moved to 12-5 on the season and 2-4 in conference play.

The Hawkeyes opened the game by making their first five 3-point attempts as they started 7-of-10 from the field. Iowa built an early lead before Purdue responded by making three consecutive 3-pointers to take the lead. The Hawkeye defense settled as they forced a three-minute scoring drought. Purdue ended the half making just one of seven field goals.

Junior Kael Combs led Iowa with 10 points on 4-of-5 from the field including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. Despite picking up his second foul less than five minutes into the half, senior Bennett Stirtzplayed 17 minutes and added five points, three rebounds, and three assists.

The Hawkeyes shot 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) from the field and 7-of-10 from 3-point range in the opening half.

Purdue quickly took a 39-38 lead to start the second half before back-to-back dunks from junior Cam Manyawu capped off a 10-0 Iowa run as they led the Boilermakers, 48-39, with under 15 minutes remaining. The Boilermakers responded with a 10-2 spurt to take the game at 50 with 10 minutes remaining.

The game would be tied three times in the final 10 minutes. Purdue built its lead to five before a 3-pointer from Tavion Banks at the end of the shot clock cut the deficit to two. The Boilermakers then iced the game away at the free throw line in the final minute.

Stirtz led all scorers with 19 points to go along with three rebounds and four assists. Combs marked a new career-high with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Junior Cam Manyawu added 13 points, three rebounds, and a team-high three steals.

The Hawkeyes shot 27-of-51 (52.9 percent) from the field and 12-of-25 (48 percent) from deep.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“I thought we came out and played well. I thought our offense was clicking, again, we got it kind of corrected a little bit, which was great. I thought defensively we were good for about 30 minutes and then we just decided we weren’t going to be in ball screen coverage anymore, and they were able to get downhill.

I think as you learn how to win, those are some things that you need be able to do late in games, get big, tough stops, and we were just not good enough tonight to be able to do that. I’m hopeful that we stick with what we’ve been doing, and we get a little bit better. It was good for the most part, but I look at these turnovers, 13 turnovers, isn’t good enough on the road. Obviously, the free throw differential continues to be a thing, so we just have to get a little better.”

GAME NOTES

• In a game that featured nine ties and 14 lead changes, No. 5 Purdue held off Iowa, winning, 79-72, on Wednesday night inside Mackey Arena.
• The Hawkeyes had three players finish in double figures: Bennett Stirtz (19), Kael Combs (16), Cam Manyawu (13).
  • Combs scored a career high 16 points, finishing with a career-best six field goals and four 3-pointers. He had a team-high 10 points in the first half.
• After Purdue took a 39-38 lead at the 16:45 mark of the second half, the Hawkeyes used a 10-0 spurt over a 1:51 stretch to take a 48-39 lead and force a Boilermaker timeout.
• The Boilermakers responded with a 12-2 run to tie the game at 50 with 10:13 to play. The game was tied three times in the final 10 minutes.
• Iowa finished with 12 3-point field goals, making 12-of-25 attempts. It was the team’s fifth game with 10 or more 3s.
• The Hawkeyes lost for just the second time this season when leading at the half. 
• Iowa shot 52.9 percent from the floor and lost for just the second time this season when shooting above 50 percent.
• The first half featured four ties and seven lead changes with neither team leading by more than five points.
• Iowa made 8-of-12 shots over the first 10 minutes, including 5-of-6 3-pointers and shot 54.5 percent from the floor and made 7-of-10 3s in the first half. 
  
  

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Saturday, traveling to Bloomington for a Big Ten road game at Indiana. The game will begin at 1 p.m. (CT) and be televised on FOX.