Feb. 14, 2009
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -E'Twaun Moore scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and No. 20 Purdue outlasted undermanned Iowa 49-45 on Saturday.
JaJuan Johnson added 13 points, including a key jumper with 1:26 left, and the Boilermakers won their second straight after suffering back-to-back losses at Ohio State and Illinois.
Purdue held its second straight opponent under 50 points, and had two late defensive stops to stave off a rally by the Hawkeyes (13-13, 3-10 Big Ten).
Johnson's jumper put the Boilermakers (19-6, 8-4) ahead 46-43, and Moore hit a pair of free throws with 3.1 seconds left to seal the win.
Jake Kelly led all scorers with 19 points for the Hawkeyes, who lost for the sixth time in seven games. They were missing starting point guard Jeff Peterson, who has a strained hamstring, and forward Cyrus Tate, who hasn't fully recovered from a high ankle sprain
Iowa had cut Purdue's lead to 44-43 and seemed poised to jump ahead when the Boilermakers defense stepped up. Purdue forced Iowa's Matt Gatens to take a 3 that bounced off the side of the backboard with just under 2 minutes left. Johnson then buried an 18-footer, and Iowa's Jermain Davis threw up an airball from 3-point range with the shot clock winding down.
Chris Kramer then followed his own miss with an offensive rebound, and Keaton Grant hit a free throw to make it 47-43. Kelly dashed downcourt for a quick layup, but Moore followed with two from the line to make it a two-possession game.
Purdue's Robbie Hummel, who missed the past three games with a hairline fracture in his lower back, played 24 minutes and scored two points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Iowa chipped away at Purdue's slim lead for much of the second half, eventually tying the game at 37 on two free throws by David Palmer with 8:39 left. Kelly gave the Hawkeyes a 41-39 lead with a running layup, but Kramer followed with a layup and Grant hit a 3 to put the Boilermakers ahead 44-41 with just over 5 minutes left.
Purdue opened things up with an early 9-0 run, as Hummel found Johnson for a bucket in the paint and Lewis Jackson buried a jumper from the free-throw line to make it 20-11.
Iowa then tightened up its defense, holding Purdue to just two field goals in the final 7:13 of the first half to pull within 25-20 by the break.
The Boilermakers have won five straight over Iowa, which clearly missed Peterson. Without their floor leader, the Hawkeyes had just five assists on 17 field goals and shot 2-of-19 from 3-point range.