December 12, 1998
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Purdue coach Gene Keady has always insisted that the pivotal point of a basketball game is the first five minutes of the second half.
His ninth-ranked Boilermakers (10-1) proved Keady right Saturday night by outscoring La Salle 15-2 at the start of the second half and going on to an 80-59 victory in the championship game of the Boilermaker Invitational.
It is Purdue's seventh consecutive Boilermaker Invitational title and eighth in the nine-year history of the tournament. The Boilermakers loss to Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1991.
"We told our players before the game that a way we could beat them is to wear them down in the second half," Keady said. "They played great in the first half, and we had our hands full.
"We played our older kids to start the second half and they responded by getting us the lead. We started to get more physical and were more competitive and tougher in the second half."
Tournament MVP Mike Robinson led Purdue with 23 points.
"Mike has been letting the game come to him, instead of forcing some things," Keady said. "His biggest problem the last two years was not being able to make 3-pointers, but he's let that go by the wayside and that's really helped him.">p> Robinson did not attempt any 3-pointers Saturday night.
The Explorers (2-5) were led by Donnie Carr with 26 points, while Victor Thomas added 11 and Julian Blanks had 10.
The Boilermakers broke the game open with a 15-2 run in the first six minutes of the second half. Purdue trailed 35-34 at halftime, but scored five straight points to take a 39-34 lead with 18:54 to play in the game.
Thomas hit a 3-pointer pull La Salle within 39-37 before the Boilermakers ran off 10 straight points to take a 49-37 on Alan Eldridge's layup with 14:00 left.
Gary McQuay began the run with a three-point play. Robinson followed with a free throw and a tip-in basket with 15:45 remaining before Greg McQuay's jumper with 14:40 left gave Purdue a 47-38 lead.
"They got the ball to Mike Robinson in the right spots and he hit his foul shots," La Salle coach Speedy Morris said. "I thought he was the catalyst that broke our backs in the second half.
"They are a very unselfish team right now."
The closest La Salle got the remainder of the way was 52-45 with just over 11 minutes remaining.
"I think Purdue did an excellent job in the second half against the zone," Morris said. "They made some adjustments, and we didn't count on those adjustments."
Carr sparked the Explorers in the first half with 17 points, including a 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining that gave La Salle a 35-34 halftime lead.
Purdue never led by more than three points in the first half - the last time at 31-28 with 3:03 left on Robinson's layup.
Eastern Washington beat Valparaiso 70-66 in the third-place game.