Purdue Boilermakers Fall to Northwestern Wildcats in Double Overtime
By Mathew Muncy
Jan 21, 2014; Evanston, IL, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Bryson Scott (12) goes to the basket against Northwestern Wildcats forward Sanjay Lumpkin (34) during the first half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Watching 40 minutes of last night’s Purdue Boilermakers vs. Northwestern Wildcats game was torture enough, so having to watch an additional 10 minutes just to announce a winner was downright tiring. After 50 minutes of what you could call basketball, Northwestern emerged victorious, 63-60.
As noted in our preview, the key to victory for Purdue was to get their center, A.J. Hammons, going on the offensive end, which sort of happened. Hammons finished with 17 points, but shot 3-of-10 from the field and 11-of-17 from the free throw line. He also had 10 rebounds and four blocks, but for the most part Hammons looked uninterested. Terone Johnson tried to pick up the slack, like usual, scoring 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three-point range, but it wasn’t enough.
It also didn’t help that Purdue’s offense went completely cold halfway through the second half. Kendall Stephens hit a three-pointer with 12:54 left in the second half to put Purdue up 37-30. Purdue wouldn’t hit another field goal in the second half, but scored nine free throws and never let Northwestern lead, yet couldn’t keep Northwestern from scoring and tying the game. Ronnie Johnson finally broke the slump with a layup to start the first overtime and Terone hit a three-pointer with 56 seconds remaining in the second overtime, the only two field goals Purdue had in the final 22 minutes and 57 seconds.
Northwestern’s duo of Drew Crawford and Tre Demps kept them in the game. Both scored 19 points and combined for 11 of Northwestern’s final 17 points. The duo also gave Northwestern it’s first lead of the game with 4:37 left in the second overtime when Crawford hit a jumper assisted by Demps. Crawford sealed the game by blocking Ronnie Johnson’s final three-point attempt as time expired.
The loss set Purdue back in their attempt to make the NCAA Tournament as they fell to 98 in the RPI rankings. Unless Northwestern catches fire, this loss will go down as a “bad loss” on Purdue’s resume.
Purdue’s schedule get significantly harder now as they take on the No. 9 Wisconsin Badgers at Mackey Arena and then travel to take on the No. 21 Michigan Wolverines in the next nine days. If they want to salvage any part of their slowly fading season, they will need to get at least one win, with the bigger win likely coming on the road against Michigan.
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