Final
Hot-shooting Purdue sinks Northwestern
Feb 17, 2008 - 3:02 AM EVANSTON, Illinois (Ticker) -- Freshman E'Twaun Moore and some blistering shooting helped keep Purdue on a roll.Moore scored a season-high 28 points to power the 23rd-ranked Boilermakers to their 11th straight victory, a 71-56 victory over Northwestern in the Big Ten Conference on Saturday.
Keaton Grant added 15 points for conference-leading Purdue (21-5, 12-1 Big Ten), which avoided a letdown by shooting 58 percent (26-of-45) against the overmatched Wildcats, who dropped their fifth straight game.
"Purdue is a very well balanced team," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "On different nights, different guys come through for them. That's what makes them a good team, but they all guard pretty well."
The Boilermakers squandered a 10-point second-half lead and fell behind, 50-48, after Northwestern (7-17, 0-12) ripped off a 12-0 run that was capped by Craig Moore's 3-pointer with 9:49 to play.
" I thought [Northwestern] played very well," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "They had a stretch there where (Craig) Moore got away from us once for a three, then they stuck another three. We were in a tough position.
"At that time, I was more worried about passing and catching. We were having a difficult time just passing and catching and making a simple play."
Purdue quickly regrouped, though, and answered with a 14-0 run of its own, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Grant to seize a 62-50 advantage with 5 1/2 minutes to go.
E'Twaun Moore's 3-pointer gave the Boilermakers a 67-52 cushion with 4:08 left as Purdue held Northwestern without a field goal for over six minutes.
Kevin Coble scored 13 points to pace the Wildcats, who appeared poised for a huge upset in the early going.
Nikola Baran's 3-pointer gave Northwestern a 27-23 lead with just over 6 1/2 minutes left in the first half, only to see Purdue come storming back.
E'Twaun Moore scored eight straight points for the Boilermakers, including back-to-back shots from the arc, to spark a 10-0 run that provided a 35-29 lead en route to a 35-31 edge at the break.
"The whole night, we weren't able to contain (E'Twaun) Moore," Carmody said. "He was getting to the hole, driving in the gaps, knocking down shots and he sort of carried them."
The late flurry by E'Twaun Moore gave him 16 points for the half, helping Purdue shoot 64 percent (14-of-22) in the opening 20 minutes.
The overall hot shooting helped the Boilermakers overcome 16 turnovers. Northwestern committed just six.
"We had way too many turnovers, maybe the most turnovers we've had in Big Ten play," Painter said. "We weren't able to force them into turnovers. It's a dilemma you're in as a coach, especially as a coach that uses pressure defense."
- NCAA BB
FINAL 1ST 2ND TOTAL
--- --- -----
PURDUE (23) 35 36 71
NORTHWESTERN 31 25 56 FINAL
Feb 16 5:58 PM - NCAA BB
(23) PURDUE 35
NORTHWESTERN 31 HALFTIME
Feb 16 4:51 PM
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