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Purdue heats up late and knocks off Wisconsin

Jan 28, 2009 - 6:15 AM MADISON, Wisconsin (Ticker) -- Wisconsin made a lot of 3-pointers, but Purdue made the big ones down the stretch.

E'Twaun Moore scored 17 points and Robbie Hummel hit a huge 3-pointer late to lead the 17th-ranked Boilermakers to a 64-63 victory over the Badgers on Tuesday.

Hummel's three came with a minute left and gave Purdue (16-4, 5-2 Big Ten) a 60-58 lead.

Keaton Grant and JaJuan Johnson each hit a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal Purdue's fifth straight win.

Keaton Nankivil hit five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 21 for Wisconsin (12-8, 3-5), which has lost five straight and two in a row at home for the first time under coach Bo Ryan.

Wisconsin finished 11-of-18 from the arc.

After Jordan Taylor missed a shot from the arc, Grant hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to four with 32 seconds to play.

Taylor then made a layup to slice the lead in half with 22 seconds left and Purdue's Chris Kramer missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Wisconsin got the ball back with 17 seconds to go but couldn't convert as Taylor's lefthanded floater in the lane went in and out and Johnson hit two free throws to give Purdue a 64-60 lead.

"I was really proud of our guys for hanging tough late in the game," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "I think we have some competitive guys who want to win, but a lot of people have guys that want to win. I think there is a fine line, especially in tonight's game where our guys made a couple more plays down the stretch."

Trevon Hughes hit a late three to cap the scoring.

"We got some looks and we just missed shots around the basket," Ryan said. "You have to finish from eight feet in and when you get the ball in the paint. We just didn't finish enough."

Wisconsin has lost five straight for the first time since the 1998 season, when the Badgers dropped 11 in a row to close out the season.

"It was a bad loss, but we are going to get past it and get ready for the next one," Hughes said. "We have good players on this team and we can't relax because five losses in a row is ridiculous."

The Boilermakers entered the game shooting 45 percent as a team but came out firing, shooting 65 percent in the first half to take a 36-30 lead at the break.

Wisconsin rallied thanks to Nankivil, who was 1-for-4 in his career from the arc entering the game, but went 5-for-5.

Nankivil's tied the game, 49-49, with a three with 8:44 left then hit another to give Wisconsin a five-point edge four minutes later.

Grant hit a three to pull Purdue within 56-54 and Kramer hit from long range with 1:58 left to make it 58-57.

"I thought we really showed a lot of resiliency by stepping up and making threes and getting some timely stops at the end," Painter said. "When you do those things, you're going to win some games and we were fortunate to win the game."