Rodney Smith's 27 Points Leads Boilermakers Over Northwestern, 78-59

Jan. 20, 2001

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By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Rodney Smith scored 27 points and Purdue made three 3-pointers in a three-minute span to break the game open Saturday in beating Northwestern 78-59.

John Allison added 17 points as Purdue (12-5, 4-2 Big Ten) snapped a two-game losing streak.

The Boilermakers' 14-point lead at one point was whittled to three with 14:01 left in the game.

Purdue led 36-24 early in the second half, but Collier Drayton's 3-pointer started a 12-3 Northwestern (7-11, 0-6) run, capped by another Drayton 3-pointer that brought the score to 39-36.

Then Smith, Maynard Lewis and Austin Parkinson made 3-pointers as Purdue stretched the lead to 49-38. Smith added another 3-pointer at the 10:27 mark for a 57-41 lead.

Purdue was 6-of-13 from 3-point range.

Both teams were abysmal from the floor for most of the game, with neither team shooting over 30 percent at the half.

All five starters scored as Purdue raced to a 13-0 lead. The Boilermakers pushed the lead to 21-7 but watched their shooting percentage head south after that.

Jason Burke's 3-pointer and a layup by Tavaras Hardy cut the gap to 25-17 with 5:40 remaining. Each team scored five points the rest of the way as Purdue