Purdue Sneaks Past Northwestern, 58-56

1/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Jan. 28, 2012

Box Score | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2

Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: Purdue 58, Northwestern 56
Records: NU (12-8, 2-6 Big Ten), Purdue (15-7, 5-4 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Thursday, Feb. 2 -- vs. Nebraska (Welsh-Ryan Arena), 6 p.m.
Tickets: Available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's dynamic duo of John Shurna and Drew Crawford combined for 38 total points, but the joint effort wasn't enough as Purdue escaped from Welsh-Ryan Arena with a 58-56 victory on Saturday afternoon.

Crawford posted 23 points to lead all scorers. Shurna, who added 15, had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but his three-point shot hit the side of the rim as time expired.

Terone Johnson paced Purdue off the bench with 14 points, and D.J. Byrd added 12 points. Robbie Hummel, whose shot with eight seconds left clinched it for the Boilermakers, finished with 11 points.

Neither team caught fire through the first half, but Shurna got things going for Northwestern with a three to open the game, giving the Wildcats the early advantage. With Purdue struggling from the field to start the contest, shooting under 30-percent from the field (3-of-11), the 'Cats were able to creep further away, but a 12-1 Purdue run reversed fortunes and put the Boilermakers up by four, 21-17.

Crawford ended the streak with a three, however, keeping NU in the hunt. Nearly three minutes of scoreless play inched by until Crawford struck again with another three-pointer to cut the Purdue lead, 23-20 with just over one minute left in the stanza. Freshman Dave Sobolewski knocked down two from the charity stripe to bring NU within one in the waning seconds of the half, but an Anthony Johnson buzzer-beater gave Purdue a 26-22 lead into halftime.

Purdue came out of the locker rooms hot, jumping out to an 8-3 run, but threes from Crawford and Alex Marcotullio, interspersed with a couple of Shurna buckets, gave the 'Cats a 40-36 advantage by the time the game hit the 12-minute mark. Crawford ended the day shooting 4-of-7 from behind the arc.

The Wildcats cooled off, however, only knocking down one basket in nearly five minutes of play. Both teams refused to give up and a back-and-forth ensued for the next five minutes, with neither team leading by more than five points.

With the Wildcats trailing, Reggie Hearn, who notched a career-high eight rebounds on the day, recorded back-to-back baskets, the second of which tied things up at 56-56 with 41.9 seconds left.

But with seconds ticking off the clock, Hummel shot a floater from the baseline to give Purdue the two-point edge with just eight seconds remaining. Shurna's last-ditch three-pointer went just wide, allowing the Boilermakers to escape.

Northwestern held Purdue -- the Big Ten's fifth-best three-point team -- to just 6-of-21 shooting from behind the arc. NU held a 37-23 rebounding advantage, including snaring 13 offensive boards.

The Wildcats return to action at 6 p.m. Thursday when they host Nebraska.

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