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Purdue uses hot shooting to blow out Iowa

Jan 18, 2009 - 11:11 PM WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (Ticker) -- Thanks to outstanding outside shooting and a suffocating defense, Purdue did not have to sweat out its latest Big Ten win.

E'Twaun Moore scored 13 points to pace a balanced offensive attack as the 19th-ranked Boilermakers rolled past Iowa, 75-53, on Sunday afternoon.

Keaton Grant made four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points for Purdue (14-4, 3-2 Big Ten), which shot a blistering 67 percent (10-of-15) from beyond the arc.

The Boilermakers had gotten off to a difficult start in Big Ten play, losing its first two league games by a combined margin of seven points before avoiding an upset in Thursday's 63-61 victory at Northwestern.

But after a slow first half, Purdue pulled away after the break in this one, using a 23-5 run to open a 54-31 lead with 11 minutes remaining.

"I felt our guys really got in a rhythm in the second half," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "Shooting the basketball, it just seems like when a couple guys start knocking down shots, everybody else seems to make theirs also."

"(When teammates make 3-pointers), it gets you pumped up," added Moore, who sank a pair of shots from beyond the arc. "You just can't wait for the ball to come your way so you can knock one down too."

Nemanja Calasan scored 10 points off the bench, shooting 4-of-5 from the floor, while Robbie Hummel added nine points and eight rebounds for the Boilermakers, who have won their last four meetings with the Hawkeyes.

"We had our deficiencies, and Purdue just had that stretch where they hit three or four 3-pointers in a row," Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter said. "They are an extremely skilled team, and it goes way beyond shooting."

David Palmer scored a career-high 19 points and Matt Gatens added 11 for the Hawkeyes (11-7, 1-4), who shot just 36 percent (18-of-50) from the floor and committed 19 turnovers.

However, Iowa did shoot an uncharacteristic 45 percent (9-of-20) from beyond the arc.

The Hawkeyes received a poor performance from leading scorer Anthony Tucker, who managed just five points off the bench on 1-of-7 shooting.

Iowa closed its deficit to 24-22 on Palmer's 3-pointer with 1:52 left in the first half.

But Calasan sank a short jumper on the ensuing possession and Marcus Green drilled a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give Purdue a 29-22 edge at the break.

"That was a huge shot," Purdue guard Chris Kramer said. "Green's three gave us the momentum carrying into halftime, and then we carried it."