EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 16 Purdue's plan was to give Vincent Edwards some maneuvering room under the basket on Sunday.

The strategy worked almost to perfection as the 6-foot-8 junior scored a team-high 25 points and added five assists in a 69-65 Big Ten victory over Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

"We wanted to get as much post entries from Vince Edwards as possible," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "We thought Vince would be open and we could capitalize on that."

Edwards has ample help from Caleb Swanigan, touted as a Big Ten and possibly national player of the year candidate who had 20 points and 14 rebounds, including 10 on defense.

Dakota Mathias contributed 13 points for Big Ten regular-season champion Boilermakers (25-6, 14-4), who clinched the title earlier this week.

"I thought Vincent Edwards' play was fantastic," Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. "You know Swanigan's going to get 20. For the most part, we did a good job on their shooters -- they were 4 of 19 from 3. But Edwards giving them that 25 I thought was the difference in the game."

Bryant McIntosh scored 25 points, Sanjay Lumpkin had 13 and Dererk Pardon added 11 for Northwestern (21-10, 10-8).

The Wildcats are looking for a first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and had a enthusiastic sendoff from an overflow home crowd in the final game before a yearlong facility renovation.

"It was a special day, it was everything I dreamed up here," Collins said. "That's what the good programs in the league have."

Northwestern built an early nine-point lead after a Scottie Lindsey 3-pointer made it 21-12. Purdue replied with an 11-0 run and grabbed a 23-22 lead on Swanigan's 3 pointer.

After six lead changes and two ties, Swanigan forced a late 37-37 deadlock that carried into halftime. Northwestern's Nathan Taphorn had given his team a 37-35 lead 20 seconds early with a jumper.

The Boilermakers led through most of the second half but couldn't put much distance on the Wildcats until a Swanigan dunk opened a 59-50 advantage -- Purdue's largest -- with seven minutes to play.

Northwestern replied with consecutive buckets by Lumpkin, McIntosh and Pardon and a Pardon free throw to make it 59-57 with 3:53 left. However, five consecutive Purdue free throws and a missed McIntosh 3-point try helped temporarily push the Boilermakers' lead back to five with 1:50 left.

The Wildcats crept within two in the final 4.3 seconds, but Edwards iced the decision with two free throws.

The Boilermakers ended up making 17 of 19 from the line.

"The thing that's common if you look at all the games we've won is that we do make our free throws," Painter said. "When we got into the free throw game, our guys made enough to keep it to two possessions."

Both teams now await the conference tournament, which opens Wednesday at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

NOTES: Purdue beat Northwestern 80-59 on Feb. 1 in West Lafayette, Ind. ... The Boilermakers own a Big Ten-best 23 conference titles, including 12 since 1996. ... Purdue has been ranked in the Top 25 each week this season, ranging from as low as No. 23 to as high as No. 14. ... The 2016-17 Northwestern team became the winningest program history with a 67-65 victory over Michigan on Wednesday. The Wildcats previously had 20-win seasons last season and in 2009-19 and 2010-11. ... Northwestern G Bryant McIntosh had six assists to set a school season record of 531. ... With the home season complete, work will now commence on an $110 million renovation of Welsh-Ryan Arena as the Wildcats shift home games next season to Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.