Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Purdue
Northwestern Falls at Purdue, 82-68
1/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2003
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By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Willie Deane scored a season-high 23 points and Kenneth Lowe added 14 as Purdue beat Northwestern 82-68 Saturday afternoon in a game that was much closer than the final score would indicate.
The Boilermakers are 9-3 for the second time in three seasons and have now won all eight games this year at Mackey Arena.
Purdue hung on for the win despite playing without Deane -- who fouled out -- for the final 2:17. The Wildcats (8-5, 0-2) trailed by 11 at that point, but Jitim Young drove the lane for consecutive layups to make it 71-64.
Purdue's Brandon McKnight was fouled but missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Chris Booker, though, grabbed the offensive rebound, and soon Melvin Buckley was at the line. He made one of two free throws to give Purdue a 72-64 lead.
Young, who led the Wildcats with 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting, would add two from the line to make it 72-66 with 1:22 left in the contest.
However, that is where NU's fortunes declined; Lowe, Buckley and Booker continued to drain their free throws (10 in a row) while the Wildcats failed to score on five straight possessions.
The Boilermakers went 25-for-32 from the line for the game, while Northwestern took just eight freebies (making seven).
The Boilermakers led 38-30 at the half and five times had a 10-point lead in the second. However, Northwestern used a 10-4 run to make the score 64-60 with 5:30 left when Davor Duvancic finished a fast break off a nice feed from T.J. Parker. On the ensuing possession, though, Deane coolly sank a three-pointer to send the Boilermakers on a 7-0 run that finally pushed their lead to 11 and gave them some breathing room.
Northwestern got off to a good start in the game, and led 21-15 midway through the first half. However, Buckley eventually tied the score at 25 with a 3-pointer, McKnight put the Boilermakers ahead for good with two free throws, and Deane and David Teague both added treys during a 23-9 run that took them into the locker room. Aaron Jennings had 14 points and led all players in the game with seven rebounds. Winston Blake had 10 points, hitting 2-of-6 three-point attempts. Parker scored eight points, snapping an 11-game streak in which he scored double figures, but he matched a career high with six assists.
Northwestern's road in Big Ten play does not get any easier, as the Wildcats are back on the road Wednesday night to play No. 15 Indiana. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. EST (6 p.m. Chicago time).
