January 13, 1999
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Jaraan Cornell hit four 3-pointers and scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half to spark No. 13 Purdue over Illinois 63-54 Wednesday night.
The Boilermakers (14-3, 2-1 Big Ten) broke a 15-15 tie and pulled away for good with a 12-2 run which included two 3-pointers by Cornell. Brian Cardinal, who had 16 points, hit two free throws to start the run with 8:40 left in the first half and the run ended on a 3-pointer by Cornell with 4:02 remaining.
Illinois (8-8, 0-4) fell behind 38-21 when Purdue scored the first six points of the second half, but got back into the game while hitting nine straight shots. However, the Illini were only 13-of-31 for the half.
Freshman Cory Bradford, who led the Illini with 15 points, had two 3-pointers to cut his team's deficit to 52-47, but Cornell responded with his fifth 3-pointer of the game. Moments later, Illinois suffered a key loss when Sergio McClain twisted his right ankle and had to leave the game moments after his basket made the score 55-49.
Purdue went on to defeat Illinois for the seventh consecutive time by scoring six of its final eight points on free throws in the final minutes.
Purdue were 7-of-21 from the field in the second half, but got into the bonus with 12:08 left in the game. At one point the Boilermakers were 14-of-16 from the free throw line in the half, but made just three of nine attempts over the final four minutes.
Greg McQuay, who had 13 points for the Boilermakers, had the only basket in that span and missed four consecutive free throws during it.
Illinois had 23 turnovers, while Purdue had 15.