Hawkeyes rally falls short
All the attention coming into the game was focused on likely All American Zach Edey. Instead of the big man being the story of the night it was Purdue’s smallest starter that took the spotlight. Freshman point guard Branden Smith, who opened the second half scoring 12 of Purdue’s first 15 points in route to a 24 scoring night.
In the end, the Hawkeyes could never fully cut into the Boilermaker lead as Purdue held off a second half push from Iowa for an 87-73 win at Mackey Arena on Thursday evening. The loss drops Iowa to 15-9 overall and 7-6 in league play.
Iowa got off to a good start in the game, converting a Purdue turnover into the first two points of the game. But, then Purdue opened up a lead that was never threatened. The Boilermakers went on a 19-2 run with Fletcher Loyer and Smith leading the charge.
Purdue would continue to hold a comfortable lead in the first half as Iowa struggled shooting the basketball. The Hawkeyes went 1-10 from three point range in the first half and after pulling to within 12, a Caleb Furst three and a Smith drive to the basketball put the Boilermakers up 38-21 at the break.
In the second half, Iowa and Purdue seemed to be content to trade baskets and not commit any fouls or turnovers. Iowa started to ramp up their pressure with limited dividends early on as Smith carved up the Hawkeyes in his 12 point flurry that was capped by a three pointer to put Purdue up 57-39.
The Hawkeyes kept hanging around, but still could not make a significant dent in the lead. Iowa cut the lead to 15, but David Jenkins scored on a jump shot to push the lead back to 68-51.
That was the point when Iowa made their charge. The Hawkeyes made a quick 13-2 run to cut the lead to single digits, 70-64. But, then it was Edey who asserted himself into the game. He scored back to back baskets, including a dunk, and the lead back to ten. Iowa would never get it back under single digits after that as the Boilermakers closed out the win.
Iowa was led by Kris Murray, who scored 18 of this team high 24 points in the second half. Filip Rebraca scored 17 points on 8-12 shooting and led the team with 5 rebounds. The Hawkeyes were eaten up on the glass in this game to the tune of 43 to 22, but Iowa won the paint score battle, 42-38.
The Hawkeyes will have a relatively quick turnaround after this game. They head to Minnesota for a Sunday game that is scheduled for noon and will air on FS1.
