Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Purdue
Purdue Slips Past Men's Basketball, 63-61
1/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 23, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - In the first half of Northwestern's game with Purdue Wednesday night, the Wildcats reminded fans of what they did the first three games of the Big Ten season with a slow start.
The second half, they showed the form that led them to victory in each of their last two outings. That effort nearly ended up being enough for a third straight win.
In the end, though, Maynard Lewis scored a season-high 23 points, Rodney Smith added 12 and Willie Deane hit the game-winning free throws in the closing seconds as Purdue beat Northwestern 63-61.
The Boilermakers (10-11, 2-5 Big Ten) extended a nine-point halftime lead to 15 points four minutes into the second stanza. However, Northwestern chipped away at the lead, eventually erasing it completely with a 21-5 run spanning more than eight minutes.
Lewis, starting for the first time since the end of the nonconference season, halted the run with consecutive 3-pointers as the Boilermakers regained a five-point lead.
Northwestern's Aaron Jennings scored eight straight points, including two 3-pointers, to give the Wildcats (10-7, 2-4) a 59-56 lead with two minutes remaining. Jennings finished with 15 points, all in the second half.
Lewis made two free throws, then followed with a 3-pointer that gave the Boilermakers a 61-59 lead with just less than a minute to play in regulation.
Winston Blake, who led the Wildcats with 17 points, hit a driving layup to tie the game at 61 before Deane ensured the victory with his free throws, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Tavaras Hardy, who had 13 points and a team-high six rebounds, missed a difficult game-tying drive and Purdue's John Allison grabbed the rebound. Allison was fouled and missed the front end of his 1-and-1, but Northwestern was unable to get off a final desperation shot before the buzzer sounded.
Deane, the Big Ten's leading scorer, was held to seven points but had a career-high 13 assists.
Purdue made 11 of its first 15 shots and raced to a 29-16 lead. Two 3-pointers by Blake spurred a 12-5 run as the Wildcats pulled to 34-28.
But Smith hit a 3 at the buzzer to end the first half with a 37-28 lead and Purdue scored the first six points to open the second to build a 15-point lead.
Northwestern will be out of town and out of conference this weekend, taking on MAC opponent Buffalo in New York. Tip time is 6 p.m. CST.
Portions of this story were taken from the Associated Press account of the game
