November 16, 1998
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Jaraan Cornell scored 23 points to lead No. 15 Purdue past Illinois-Chicago 77-61 Monday night in the opening round of the Preseason NIT.
Purdue (2-0) led from start to finish, taking command with a 22-7 lead in the opening 10 minutes when the Flames (0-1) missed 13 of 16 shots from the field.
The Boilermakers will play host to Gonzaga, which beat Memphis 88-73, in the second round on Wednesday.
Bryant Notree topped Illinois-Chicago with 24 points.
Only poor free throw shooting kept the Boilermakers from turning the game into a bigger rout. Purdue made only 15 of 33 free throws.
The Boilermakers used a 16-3 run in the first half to take command. The only field goal by the Flames during the spurt came on a layup by Notree, cutting Purdue's lead to 14-7 with 12:20 remaining in the first half.
Purdue scored the next nine points before Illinois-Chicago's Leonard Walker hit a jumper with 8:50 left. Purdue responded with an 11-2 run and went on to lead by as many as 28 points in the first half.
Ten players scored in the first half, which ended with Purdue leading 50-24. The Boilermakers shot 60 percent from the field in the first half while the Flames were held to 29 percent.
The Flames opened the second half with an 11-0 run to pull within 50-35. But Purdue responded with its own 11-0 run, including seven points by Cornell, to regain control.
Twelve players scored for Purdue. Greg McQuay and Brian Cardinal were the only other Boilermakers in double figures with 11 points apiece.
Jordan Kardos scored 15 points for Illinois-Chicago.
By HANK LOWENKRON
AP Sports Writer