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Purdue caps perfect home slate with win over Illinois

Mar 2, 2011 - 5:53 AM West Lafayette, IN (Sports Network) - Seniors JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore fittingly led No. 6 Purdue to a 75-67 win over Illinois with 41 combined points on senior night at Mackey Arena.

Johnson had 23 points and six rebounds while Moore scored 18 points for the Boilermakers (25-5, 14-3 Big Ten), who have won seven straight and remained a game behind Ohio State for first place in the Big Ten.

"It's been a pleasure to coach them," Purdue head coach Matt Painter said of his star seniors. "The impact they have is their development and the way they carry themselves."

D.J. Byrd chipped in 16 points and seven rebounds as Purdue finished 16-0 at home, which is the first time the club has gone undefeated in West Lafayette since the 1968-69 season.

Demetri McCamey notched 18 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Fighting Illini (18-12, 8-9), who have dropped three of their last four games. Mike Davis scored 12 points with 10 rebounds in the loss.

With the teams deadlocked at 37, Byrd's jumper opened the second half to give Purdue the lead. Moments later, Moore netted a mid-range jump shot to go up 41-39.

Just past the midway mark of the second, Moore's steal and coast-to-coast jam followed by Ryne Smith's three-pointer put the Boilermakers up 60-51 with 8 1/2 minutes left to play.

That lead was trimmed away the next two minutes, though, as McCamey's three- point play cut it to 62-61 with 6:17 remaining.

Moore had another steal and breakaway layup while also drawing a foul with five minutes left, pushing the lead to 67-62. From there, the Boilermakers were able to keep Illinois' bid at a comeback at bay as they went 5-for-8 from the free throw line the final 1:44.

Illinois jumped out to an impressive 29-16 lead during the first 11 1/2 minutes of the game. Purdue, however, mounted a 12-0 run finished by Moore and Terone Johnson's back-to-back threes to cut it 31-30 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the half.

The Illini held onto the slim lead until the Boilermakers reversed the momentum before the half with a five-point run. Lewis' driving layup and Moore's trey with seven seconds remaining made up for the 37-37 score at the break.

Game Notes

Purdue leads the series record 93-84...Illinois made 50 percent of its shots, while the Boilermakers made 43.1 percent....Purdue had five steals and four blocks as a team.