November 18, 1998
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Travel-weary Gonzaga ran out of steam down the stretch against No. 15 Purdue.
Jaraan Cornell scored a career-high 29 points, including eight straight in a key second-half run, as the Boilermakers beat the Bulldogs 83-68 Wednesday night in the second round of the Preseason NIT.
Gonzaga, playing its third road game in six nights, scored only four points and made just one basket in the final seven minutes.
"We just wore them down," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "If I had to play three games in a row like these on the road, my legs would be tired too."
The Bulldogs left their home campus in Spokane, Wash. on Thursday, played at Kansas on Friday, then traveled to Memphis for a Monday game before coming to Indiana.
"We're ready to get home," Gonzaga coach Dan Monson said. "I think this has been a good experience for our team. This is a long season. I hope we found something to work on. I know Purdue showed us a couple of things."
Cornell, a junior guard, was 9-of-13 from the field and made all eight of his free throws to top his previous high of 28 points.
"I felt like I was in a pretty good rhythm and I felt my shot was there so I took it when I had it," Cornell said. "I just shot. There was no pressure on me because if I made them or not, we were going to win the ball game."
Gonzaga (1-2) had cut a 14-point halftime deficit to five when Cornell began his run. He made a basket and a 3-pointer to give Purdue a 65-55 lead, then made all three free throws after he was fouled attempting a 3-pointer to put the Boilermakers ahead 68-55 with 13:09 remaining.
"Our kids were a little bit tougher, a little bit smarter," Keady said. "We did a good job the second half closing out on their outside shooters. The kids did a nice job of helping each other."
Purdue (3-0) will play No. 10 North Carolina in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden next Wednesday.
Richie Fram, who scored a career-high 37 points in Gonzaga's win over Memphis in the opening round, and Matt Santangelo led the Bulldogs with 16 points apiece.
A basket by Casey Calvery left Gonzaga trailing 73-64 with 7:18 to play, but the Bulldogs didn't score again until Santangelo made two free throws with one minute remaining.
Gonzaga made only 12 of 35 shots from the field in the second half, including 3-of-17 from 3-point range.
The Boilermakers trailed early after hitting just two of their first seven shots. Gonzaga built its biggest lead of the game at 18-12 with 13:32 left in the half.
The Boilermakers, who have lost only three non-conference games at homer this decade, rallied to take their first lead at 20-19 on a basket by Cameron Stephens. The teams exchanged the lead six more times before a 3-pointer by Brian Cardinal put the Boilermakers ahead to stay, 28-27.
Cardinal's shot was one of five Purdue 3-pointers in the final six minutes of the opening half, which ended with the Boilermakers leading 51-37.