Video: Purdue thwarts Iowa's upset attempt

IOWA CITY - No. 4 Purdue targeted two Iowa players last night in its effort to stay unbeaten.

The first was Iowa's leading scorer Matt Gatens. The second was point guard Cully Payne. The result was successful for the Boilermakers.

Purdue (12-0) thwarted a feisty upset attempt by the Hawkeyes (5-8) and pulled out a 67-56 win last night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It was the Big Ten opener for both schools, which meant defense and physical play. Neither was in short supply.

Purdue guard Chris Kramer was charged with guarding Gatens, who averaged 13.4 points entering the game. Kramer held Gatens to six points on six shots and forced five turnovers.

“That's what I have to do,” Kramer said. “That's what gets me on the court and able to play here, taking pride in my defense and shutting down the team's best scorer.

“With Matt Gatens, (you) try to make him put it on the floor but keep him in front. With Cully Payne, make him work for everything.”

Gatens switched from a shooting mode to a decoy and screen setter after it became obvious he was Kramer's target.

“You could definitely tell his job was to keep me away from the ball on offense,” Gatens said. “He's a heck of a defender.”

Payne hit only 2 of 11 shots and had four turnovers. He often dribbled into trouble and Purdue's blistering defense wore him down.

“We just wanted to keep a fresh body on Cully Payne and try to wear him down and then really try to disrupt what they're doing offensively,” Purdue Coach Matt Painter said. “I thought our guys the whole game did a good job of that.

“You have to knock off Gatens and then you have to get to Cully Payne and make somebody else handle the basketball.”

Payne left the game late with cramps, which opened the door for red-shirt freshman John Lickliter to play valuable minutes in the second half. Lickliter, son of Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter, responded with six points, no turnovers and two steals in eight minutes.

Lickliter spurred a late Iowa rally with a steal at midcourt and sprinted toward the basket. When Kramer converged, Lickliter launched a prayer of a shot that bounced off the backboard and in for a basket.

“I thought, ‘You know, maybe I'll get bailed out or something,'” Lickliter said. “I wasn't expecting it. I was shocked when I hit it, but I thought I might as well attack them.”

Iowa fought with intensity throughout, leading by nine early in the first half and 27-26 at halftime. Even when Purdue adjusted, Iowa stayed within single digits most of the game.

Iowa sophomore forward Aaron Fuller led the Hawkeyes with 15 points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds in his first start since Nov. 17. Fuller suffered a sprained ankle Nov. 20 and played a season-high 34 minutes last night. Freshman Eric May added 11 points and eight rebounds.

The win marked Purdue's sixth straight in the series. Purdue forward E'Twaun Moore overcame a sluggish first half to score 21 points. Robbie Hummel added 15.