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Crittenton lifts Georgia Tech past Purdue in second half

Nov 21, 2006 - 12:50 AM MAUI, Hawaii (Ticker) -- Javaris Crittenton may be just a freshman, but he already knows how to take over a game like a veteran.

Crittenton scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half as No. 19 Georgia Tech pulled away from Purdue for a 79-61 victory in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.

One of two top-notch first-year players along with 6-8 forward Thaddeus Young, Crittenton shot 4-of-9 from the field and converted 11-of-12 free throws.

The guard attempted all of his free throws after intermission, propelling the Yellow Jackets (4-0) into the semifinals of this preseason tournament against No. 11 Memphis on Tuesday.

Holding a 28-24 lead at the half, Georgia Tech was unable to break open the contest until Crittenton capped a 13-5 burst with four straight free throws, making it 52-43 with 11:12 remaining.

The Boilermakers (2-1) managed to close within 56-50 on a shot from the stripe by Chris Kramer with 9:20 to play, but Crittenton sank a pair of the other end, Young dunked and Crittenton added a layup for a 62-52 edge with 7:47 left.

After teammate Lewis Clinch sank two free throws, Crittenton continued a dominant four-minute stretch by scoring eight of the game's next 10 points to push the advantage to 72-54 with 3:44 remaining.

In the dominant span, the 6-4 guard sank all three of his shots from the field and converted 4-of-4 free throws as the Yellow Jackets made a decisive 12-2 push.

Clinch scored 14 points and Young and Zach Peacock had 13 each for the Yellow Jackets, who shot 49 percent (28-of-57) from the field.

Carl Landry was the lone player in double figures with 14 points for Purdue, which shot just 4-of-24 from 3-point range. Landry also had nine rebounds and Gordon Watt added eight points and nine boards for the Boilermakers, who were pounded in rebounding margin with a 48-29 deficit.

Purdue will face Oklahoma in the loser's bracket on Tuesday.