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Burke, Michigan outlast Purdue for much-needed road win

Mar 7, 2013 - 5:13 AM West Lafayette, IN (Sports Network) - Michigan's erratic play outside Ann Arbor has been well documented, yet staring a 12-point deficit in the face, the Wolverines responded.

Trey Burke led the way with 26 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals, as the seventh-ranked Wolverines outlasted Purdue, 80-75, at Mackey Arena.

Burke did plenty of scoring, but also set up Nik Stauskas for some clutch late baskets. Stauskas finished with 17 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 16 with five rebounds for the Wolverines (25-5, 12-5 Big Ten), who have won two straight and snapped a four-game road losing streak.

Michigan hadn't won on the road since a 74-60 victory at Illinois on January 27 and now heads home for a test against Indiana with a share of the Big Ten regular season title on the line.

"Why can't it be us, so let's just go for it," Michigan head coach John Beilein said of the potential of a conference crown. "We will have a regular routine and whatever happens, happens."

Terone Johnson scored a game-high 32 points with seven rebounds and Rapheal Davis chipped in with 15 points and nine boards for the Boilermakers (14-16, 7-10), who have lost two of three.

"We had some good looks, shots just didn't go down," Purdue head coach Matt Painter said.

In a game where each team opened a double-digit lead only to see it dissipate, Michigan rode Burke's overall floor game to the finish line.

Michigan tied the game early in the second half, but Purdue reeled off eight in a row and eventually opened a 50-39 lead with a heavy dose of interior play capped by Johnson's layup.

The high water mark was a dozen, but the Wolverines worked their way back into the game, turning to their star point guard. Burke drained a mid-range jumper and started a secondary fastbreak that ended in Stauskas' three-pointer. Burke then grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in, cutting Michigan's deficit to 57-54.

Back-to-back fastbreak pull-up jumpers by Burke put Michigan back in front, 59-58, capping a 19-6 scoring stretch.

The lead exchanged hands several times over the next few minutes. Hardaway's three put Michigan in front by two, but Purdue tied the game moments later on Johnson's short jumper.

In the final minutes, Burke became the orchestrator instead of the scorer, dishing off to Stauskas for a three and finding Mitch McGary for a layup with just over one minute left for a 71-66 lead. D.J. Byrd answered with a three and the two teams exchanged successful possessions for a 73-71 Michigan lead.

After each team made two free throws, Burke was fouled 30 feet from the basket and calmly sank two from the charity stripe for a 77-73 lead with 20 ticks to go.

Burke left the door open after missing the second of two free throws late, but a mishandled pass by Johnson and two Burke free throws sealed the victory.

Michigan jumped out to an early double-digit lead on the heels of a 10-0 burst. A conventional three-point play followed by a long trey by Hardaway triggered the burst and Glenn Robinson III's lay-in gave the visitors a 19-7 edge.

The rest of the half belonged to the Boilermakers.

Purdue slowly chipped away and finally climbed the mountain at 29-28 on A.J. Hammons' bucket. Ronnie Johnson's two free throws capped nine successive points for a 31-28 lead, and Purdue took a 34-30 lead into the locker room.

Game Notes

Michigan improved to .500 at 5-5 in true road games ... Purdue still leads the all-time series, 83-64 ... Terone's brother Ronnie Johnson finished with five points and seven assists. His pass went off Terone's hands as the Boilermakers searched for a tie in the closing seconds ... Michigan made just 42.4 percent of its shots, but lived at the foul line, connecting on 23-of-29 ... Purdue shot 43.3 percent from the floor.