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Kramer, Purdue keeps Pitino waiting on No. 500

Dec 16, 2007 - 3:43 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Chris Kramer and Purdue left Rick Pitino waiting once again.

Kramer scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half as the Boilermakers held off a second-half charge to record a 67-59 victory over No. 20 Louisville in the John Wooden Tradition on Saturday.

Freshman Robbie Hummel had 15 points for Purdue (6-2), which captured its 11th win in 16 all-time meetings with Louisville.

One of just three individuals to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach, Wooden won a national championship at Purdue in 1932 and coached the Boilermakers before moving on to UCLA.

"Anytime you play in a game that is associated with coach John Wooden it is a special feeling," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "I know that our guys appreciate and have come to respect what the name John Wooden means to Purdue."

In collecting the latest win in the series, the Boilermakers prevented Cardinals coach Pitino from recording his 500th career win. A national champion with Kentucky in 1996, Pitino was looking to become the 14th-fastest coach to reach that milestone.

"This is a tough loss for us but Purdue is a smart team and very well coached," Pitino said.

Pitino had also missed the significant win in Louisville's previous contest, a 70-65 loss to Dayton last Saturday.

Derrick Caracter led the Cardinals in scoring in that contest with 16 points, but was unavailable against the Boilermakers due to a suspension for breaking a curfew.

The sophomore forward's absence added to an already thin front line for Louisville, which was without starters David Padgett and Juan Palacios due to injury.

"It seems that we do not have a strong inside game, and when we did get some good looks at the basket we could not finish," Pitino said.

Without Caracter, Louisville (5-3) struggled against Purdue, falling behind 11 points in the opening moments of the second half.

The Cardinals attempted to rally, using their superior athletic ability and full-court pressure. Jerry Smith had six points on a 13-2 run, slicing the deficit to 46-44 with 9:25 remaining.

"I was very pleased with how our man-to-man defense was played," Painter said. "But we got a little hurried and a little out of sync in the middle of the second half and we let their athleticism get them back in the game."

Louisville stayed within two points until Kramer stepped up for Purdue, scoring six straight points for his team for a 54-48 edge with 6:39 to play.

The Cardinals continued to falter as they began to tire from their comeback, missing 10 straight shots over six-plus minutes, falling behind, 63-53, on a free throw by Kramer with 42 seconds to play.

Louisville's rally also fell short due to the ability of Purdue to easily handle the Cardinals press.

"At times it seemed that we had frustration at what they were doing against our press," Pitino said. "When we doubled the ball they always found the open man, which led to some open looks."

Keaton Grant scored 12 points and freshman Scott Martin added 11 for Purdue, which shot 48 percent (22-of-46) and held a 30-22 advantage in points in the paint.

Terrence Williams had 17 points and Smith chipped in 13 for Louisville, which shot 32 percent (19-of-59).

"It was kind of a frustrating game," Williams said. "We just didn't play well down the stretch. We missed some open shots and Purdue took advantage on their end."

Early on, Louisville was bothered by Purdue's physical play, making just 7-of-24 shots (29 percent) en route to falling behind, 34-25, at the half.

Yet, the Cardinals did hold a 16-14 lead midway through the first half until the Boilermakers hit their stride, going on a 10-0 run behind three points by Hummel and Martin.

Louisville did manage to cut that deficit to 29-25 on a free throws by Terrance Farley with 40 seconds before Hummel converted a layup and Grant hit a 3-pointer leading into the half for Purdue.