February 9, 1999
By HANK LOWENKRON
AP Sports Writer
BLOOMINGTON Ind. (AP) - After missing five of his first six shots against Indiana, Purdue's Jarann Cornell couldn't miss down the stretch.
Cornell scored seven of his 14 points in overtime, including a 3-pointer that put No. 21 Purdue ahead to stay in an 86-81 victory over the No. 17 Hoosiers on Tuesday night.
"Cornell got hot," said Purdue coach Gene Keady. "We kept trying to get him open. They were doing a good job containing him. He never quits moving and trying to get open."
Cornell made his last five shots, including the long shot that gave Purdue an 84-81 lead with 33.5 seconds left in overtime.
"I don't know who set the screen, but they did a good job. I was wide open, to my surprise," Cornell said. "Whenever I'm that open, I say to myself I've got to hit it because I don't get too many open shots like that."
Brian Cardinal led the Boilermakers (17-7, 5-5 Big Ten) with 21 points. Carson Cunningham added 17 and Greg McQuay had 15 points, nine rebounds and five blocks as Purdue overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half.
"It showed a lot of guts," Cardinal said. "We've been so up and down all year. Just to come in and play well here, it was hopefully a big stepping stone for us."
Indiana (18-8, 5-6) got 24 points from A. J. Guyton, 21 from Luke Recker and 18 from reserve Kirk Haston as it failed to post its first sweep of the Boilermakers since the 1992-93 season.
The score was tied four times in the overtime before Cornell's 3-pointer gave Purdue an 84-81 lead. Indiana worked the clock down, but Michael Lewis' 3-point attempt bounced off the rim and Purdue grabbed the rebound. Al Eldridge then added two free throws with 10.6 seconds left for the Boilermakers.
Indiana took its biggest lead at 55-46 with 13:34 left. Purdue got back into the game with seven consecutive points, including a 3-pointer and a jumper by Cunningham.
William Gladness gave Indiana its final lead at 73-71 on a dunk with 3:09 left. Cornell's 11-footer tied the game at 73-73 with 2:56 left and both teams failed to score the rest of the way in regulation.
Indiana defeated Purdue 87-76 in West Lafayette on Jan. 16, one of four losses by the Boilermakers in their last six games.
"When we played up at Purdue, we were a lot more aggressive on offense than they were on defense," Indiana coach Bob Knight said. "Tonight, it was exactly the opposite, right from the beginning."
Knight also saw his team struggle at the free-throw line, where the Hoosiers made only 6 of 14 attempts. Twice in the overtime, Indiana missed the front end of a one-and-one with the Hoosiers trailing 77-75. Purdue, meanwhile, hit 12 of 14 free throws.
Purdue, which was shooting 44 percent from the field for the season, shot 59 percent and was 4-of-5 in the extra period. Indiana was 4-of-9 in the overtime and shot 49 percent for the game.
The game featured 11 lead changes and six ties in the first half, two lead changes and five ties in the second half, and five ties in the extra period when Purdue never trailed.
"It was one of those games where you're thinking, no matter who wins, the fans ought to enjoy this one," Keady said. "It was fun to watch, great shooting, unbelievably competitive."