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Hummel leads Purdue past Ball State

Dec 20, 2009 - 12:39 AM By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS(AP) -- Robbie Hummel noticed quickly that Ball State planned to knock him around, so he made the Cardinals pay for it.

The junior forward scored 19 points and made 8 of 8 free throws to help No. 4 Purdue beat Ball State 69-49 on Saturday in the Wooden Tradition. The Boilermakers have opened with 10 straight wins for only the second time since the 1936-37 season.

Hummel, who entered the game as a career 78 percent free-throw shooter, took advantage when Ball State got into foul trouble.

"They really had a gameplan to be really physical with us from the tip," Hummel said. "They really established that early on. When that's the case, if you drive them, they'll put their hands on you and you can draw some fouls. We were able to do that, and that was a key to us pushing the lead out, especially since we didn't shoot the ball well."

Hummel only made 5 of 13 field goals, but had nine rebounds and controlled the game with his aggressive play. He drew an intentional foul from Ball State's Malik Perry in the second half.

"Hummel's a great player," Ball State coach Billy Taylor said. "He can score the ball in a variety of ways, whether it's 3s or post-up. He's very difficult to stop. I thought our guys did a good job trying to contest his jump shots and trying to make him work for everything he got."

Hummel has been especially effective on offense the past three games. The junior forward scored 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting against Valparaiso, then 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting in a comeback win over Alabama.

Purdue coach Matt Painter said Hummel isn't just scoring.

"He's a mature player," Painter said. "He does a lot of little things to help you win games. He doesn't get the credit for what he does on the defensive end. He sees a lot on the defensive end and covers up for a lot of mistakes that we make."

JaJuan Johnson scored 16 points and E'Twaun Moore added 12 for the Boilermakers (10-0).

Jarrod Jones had 16 points and eight rebounds, Terrence Watson scored 12 points and Jauwan Scaife added 10 for Ball State (3-5).

It was just the third time in the 10-year history of the Wooden Tradition that a team won by at least 20 points. Purdue's victory margin tied for the second-largest ever in the event, behind Ohio State's 22-point win over Cincinnati in 2006.

The game originally was scheduled to be played Dec. 5 at Purdue, but was moved so the teams could play in the Tradition, named for Purdue graduate and former UCLA coach John Wooden.

The Boilermakers scored 20 points off 19 turnovers. It was the third time this season Ball State failed to score at least 50 points.

Purdue used an early 9-2 run to set the tone for the game.

Hummel went to the floor in a scramble for a rebound, then passed to an open teammate while on his knees, leading to a bucket by Chris Kramer that gave Purdue a 20-8 lead and forced Ball State to call timeout.

Purdue led 23-13 before going on a 14-0 run that included five points each from Moore and Hummel. The Boilermakers held the Cardinals to 32 percent shooting and led 38-15 at halftime.

Hummel scored 13 points in the first half.

"The guys were finding me in positions to score. The guys were making some great passes, then I was able to get some offensive rebounds for putbacks. But I think it was really a team win."

The Boilermakers led by as many as 30 points after the break and began playing reserves midway through the second half.

Taylor got frustrated with the officials at times, but didn't blame them for his team's loss.

"The officials had nothing to do with the outcome of this game," he said. "They're (Purdue) a terrific team. They pressure the basketball, they're very athletic. They just made it hard for us to run our offense."