For the third straight game, Purdue center Zach Edey surpassed the 30-point mark and the Boilermakers walked away with another victory.
However, this one came against a very pesky Iowa team, who battled back from a 19 point deficit before Purdue (17-2, 6-2) escaped Carver-Hawkeye Arena with an 84-70 victory Saturday. The win completed the regular season sweep for the Boilermakers against Iowa.
After trading baskets and runs early in the contest, Purdue separated itself from Iowa, utilizing a 19-2 run while Edey sat on the bench for much of it.
Purdue head coach Matt Painter said the run was the result of the Boilermakers settling in and taking care of the basketball.
“I thought we had a couple unforced errors and just trying to give ourselves a chance in terms of playing through the post, playing through ball screens and just taking what Iowa gives us,” Painter told the media after the win.
Painter, who moved into fifth place on the Big Ten’s all-time wins list with his 215th, was pleased with the play of Caleb Furst, Camden Heide and Ethan Morton during the stretch, saying them being active was the difference.
“Thought those guys were very active. Thought Caleb, Cam and Ethan in that stretch really helped us,” Painter said.
Trailing 38-31, the Hawkeyes looked to get back into the contest before Edey scored seven consecutive points and Fletcher Loyer buried a layup to send the Boilermakers into the locker room ahead 47-34.
Boilermakers survive late scare
Purdue would stretch its lead to 19 in the second half. However, with 13 minutes to go, Iowa woke up and managed to cut the deficit to 10 with five minutes left. Behind the play of guard Josh Dix, Iowa trimmed the Purdue lead to 78-70 with 4:22 remaining. It was as close as the Hawkeyes would get.
Iowa senior forward Payton Sandfort missed a pair of three pointers, and Purdue managed to hold Iowa scoreless down the stretch.
“I thought both teams got pretty fatigued to be honest with you. Sandfort got away from us a couple times and we are very fortunate he just missed those three’s,” Painter said.
Edey finished with 30 points, 18 rebounds, four blocks and two assists.
Purdue hosts Michigan Tuesday, Jan. 23 with a 9 p.m. tip at Mackey Arena.
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