The University of Iowa men’s basketball team fell to No. 13 Purdue, 78-57, on Saturday in front of a sold-out Carver Hawkeye Arena crowd. The Hawkeyes moved to 18-7 on the season and 8-6 in conference play.
Purdue built an early lead as the Hawkeyes started the game 2-of-13 from the field and 0-of-7 from 3-point range. With six minutes left in the first half Iowa trailed the Boilermakers, 30-15, its largest deficit of the first half. The Hawkeyes were able to cut the lead to nine before Purdue took a 11-point lead into the half. After 20 minutes, Iowa trailed Purdue, 36-25.
Senior Bennett Stirtz and freshman Trevin Jirak lead Iowa combining to score 13 of Iowa’s 25 first half points. The Hawkeyes shot 8-of-28 (23.6 percent) from the field and 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) from 3-point range. Iowa shot 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from the charity stripe at the break.
The Boilermakers extended its lead in the second half behind hot shooting as the Hawkeyes were unable to cut into the halftime deficit, suffering just their second home loss of the season.
Stirtz was the lone Hawkeye to finish in double digits with 19 points and five rebounds. Junior Cam Manyawu added eight points and led the team on the glass with eight rebounds. Iowa shot 20-of-53 (37.7 percent) from the field and 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) from beyond-the-arc. Iowa converted on 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) from the free throw line.
