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West Virginia upsets No. 8 Purdue

Jan 17, 2011 - 3:56 AM Morgantown, WV (Sports Network) - Kevin Jones finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, as West Virginia held for a 68-64 victory over No. 8 Purdue.

John Flowers chipped in with 15 points and seven boards, while Darryl Bryant hit some key three throws down the stretch and ended with 12 points for West Virginia (12-4), which has won four straight. Joe Mazzulla had 10 points in the win.

JaJuan Johnson led all scorers with 26 points to go with seven rebounds for Purdue (15-3), which has dropped two in a row after winning the previous 10 games. E'Twaun Moore donated 14 points, seven boards and four assists in defeat.

Purdue scored eight straight to grab a 38-34 lead 3 1/2 minutes into the second half and went ahead by six at 46-40 on a Johnson basket with 11:34 left.

However, Jones scored nine points in a WVU 12-4 run to put his squad in front 52-50 with 6:28 to play. Moore tied things with a medium range jumper on the other end, but a three-point play by Casey Mitchell and trey from Flowers gave the Mountaineers a six-point lead with 4:23 on the clock.

Johnson's make with 37 seconds left drew the Boilermakers within two, 64-62, and Mazzulla was fouled and missed the front end of a 1-and-1 giving the visitors a chance to tie it. Moore's long two from the right side was off the mark and Mazzulla was fouled and made 1-of-2 to stretch WVU's lead to three with 17 seconds to play.

Purdue had multiple looks on its next possession, but Lewis Jackson missed a jumper and Ryne Smith was unable to hit a three. Bryant's two free throws put the hosts up by five, 67-62, with four ticks on the clock and they held on for the win.

"We just had to buckle down on defense," Flowers said. "People just stepped up; they're learning their roles a lot more."

In a back-and-forth opening half, Kelsey Barlow's jumper gave Purdue an early 13-8 lead, but Bryant buried a three to finish off a 9-2 run to put West Virginia in front 17-15 with 8:15 left.

Things stayed close for the rest of the half and Bryant's make in the closing seconds gave the Mountaineers a 29-28 edge heading into the locker room.

Game Notes

Despite the loss, the Boilermakers are still 5-1 all-time against the Mountaineers...West Virginia shot 46 percent from the field and made 17-of-26 free throws...Purdue made 48.3 percent of its shots and 5-of-7 from the stripe.