Dec. 27, 1999
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - Jaraan Cornell scored 16 points as Purdue defeated Santa Clara 70-55 on Monday night.
Mike Robinson added 12 points for the Boilermakers (8-3), who have won six of their last seven. Greg McQuay had 11 points and Maynard Lewis 10 for Purdue. Rodney Smith grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Brian Jones scored 15 points for Santa Clara (5-6), which lost its fourth straight. Jamie Holmes added 13.
Purdue, 7-0 when outshooting their opponents, remained undefeated against the Broncos in three career meetings.
Senior Brian Cardinal, the Boilermakers second-leading scorer, returned to action after missing the first two games of his career following 108 consecutive appearances. He played with a soft cast to protect a fractured thumb.
Purdue opened a 13-point lead with 16:27 remaining to play when McQuay converted on a three-point play.
Santa Clara kept the game close, though, and remained within striking distance. The Broncos were within 44-38 with 8:21 left after Brian Vaka hit a pair of free throws.
Purdue then went on a 10-2 run to extend its lead to 54-40 with 6:01 left, and led by as many as 18 points in the closing minutes.
The Boilermakers led for all but nine seconds of the first half, although Santa Clara was within 25-23 after Nathan Fast, who missed the last two games with a sprained ankle, hit a pair of free throws with 4:14 left in the half.