Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Purdue
Men's Basketball Falls to Purdue, 77-58
2/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2000
EVANSTON, Ill. - Freshman guard Ben Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle) scored a career-high 26 points but it was not enough as Purdue defeated Northwestern, 77-58, on Saturday in Evanston.
The Boilermakers improve to 17-7 overall (8-3 Big Ten), while Northwestern falls to 5-18, 0-10 in the Big Ten.
The Boilermakers established themselves early, using a 12-0 run to open an 18-5 lead after the first seven minutes. Northwestern came back with a quick 9-0 spurt to cut the lead to four, 18-14, as Johnson scored the first six points and assisted a Collier Drayton (Lyons, N.Y./Lyons) three-pointer that capped the run.
After a Purdue timeout, the Boilers put together a 15-2 run to open their largest lead of the half, 33-16, with 5:13 remaining. The 'Cats clawed back to within nine in the final minute, but a jumper by Carson Cunningham at the buzzer sent Purdue to the locker room with a 42-29 lead.
Northwestern started the second half strong, scoring 10 of the first 14 points to trim the deficit to seven, 46-39. Johnson was the catalyst, hitting a three-pointer and two jumpers. However, the 'Cats would get no closer, as Purdue pulled away to claim the victory.
Northwestern returns to the hardwood on Wednesday, Feb. 16, with a road contest at Penn State. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. CT.
