December 5, 1998
CINCINNATI - Jaraan Cornell scored 21 points and led a second-half surge as No. 14 Purdue overcame a ragged start against Xavier's press and pulled away to a 71-57 victory Saturday night.
The 23rd-ranked Musketeers (5-3) flustered the Boilermakers in the opening minutes, building an 11-point lead before Purdue's leading scorer stepped up. He hit consecutive 3-pointers - his first points of the game - as Purdue caught up.Cornell also scored 10 consecutive points in the second half as Purdue (7-1) took control. Mike Robinson added 14 points as the Boilermakers wore down Xavier with their depth.Lenny Brown scored 16 for Xavier, which undercut its press with 26 turnovers.Xavier backed off its trademark press in a victory over No. 22 Miami last Wednesday, but turned it loose again and rattled Purdue at the outset. Xavier forced 10 turnovers and allowed only three field goals while pulling out to a 24-13 lead.The Boilermakers were so flustered that they couldn't get the ball up the court to take a shot. Purdue coach Gene Keady got a technical foul for heatedly arguing a traveling call against one of his players trapped in a corner.Lenny Brown's 3-pointer gave Xavier its 11-point lead with 9:24 left in the half and marked a turning point. Xavier missed eight of its nine shots the rest of the half, a costly cold spell that prevented the Musketeers from setting up their press.Purdue settled down when it was able to get into a halfcourt game and use its much deeper bench. The Boilermakers outscored the Musketeers 22-5 the rest of the half.Cornell hit consecutive 3-pointers to complete a 12-1 spurt that tied it at 25. Purdue made six of its last nine shots and went into halftime ahead 35-29. Kevin Frey hit a pair of baskets in a 6-0 spurt that tied it at 39 in the opening minutes of the second half.Just as he did in the first half, Cornell rallied Purdue with his outside shot. He scored 10 points - two free throws, a jumper and consecutive 3-pointers - in an 11-2 spurt that made it 50-41 with 8:15 left.Xavier twice cut the lead to 3 points but couldn't make a run because of its sloppy half-court offense. The Musketeers had 12 turnovers in the second half, most of them while trying to work the ball inside.Purdue hit 10 of 12 free throws in the final two minutes to pull away.By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer