Dec 6, 2002
Purdue-Middle Tennessee Statistics in PDF Format
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By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's starters were leaping off the bench, waving towels and shouting encouragement at the reserves who were adding points to an already lopsided game.
Maybe the excitement - and the winning - is back at Purdue.
Kenny Lowe scored 16 points and Willie Deane added 15 as Purdue beat Middle Tennessee 85-56 Friday night in the first round of the Boilermaker Invitational.
The Boilermakers are off to their first 3-1 start since the 1998-99 season and will play San Diego in Saturday night's championship game. Purdue has won 10 of 11 Boilermaker Invitationals and has a 22-1 career record in the two-day tournament.
"I thought really the last five minutes the deep reserves were causing a lot that (excitement)," Keady said. "I'd still like to see our first 10 be more excited about what's going on out there. ... It was nice to come back after that loss in Cincinnati and come back with a win of this magnitude."
Coming off a loss to No. 16 Xavier, Purdue scored 15 straight points during a 20-8 first-half run to blow the game open. Darmetreis Kilgore and Melvin Buckley hit consecutive 3-point baskets early in the run, but the Boilermakers relied heavily on free throws.
Purdue went 14-for-18 from the line in the first half to compensate for 38 percent shooting from the field. They were 25-for-34 overall from the line and the Blue Raiders were only 7-for-16.
Lowe scored 12 points in the half but came up limping when he crashed chest-first on the court after a layup. He left the game on Purdue's next possession but returned and didn't show any effects of the impact. He converted a turnover into a fast-break dunk for a 59-36 lead in the second half.
"We talked at halftime about playing `D' like we play in practice," said Lowe, who said he felt fine. "In the first we didn't think we played good defense. We weren't pressuring them like we should have been."
Starting late in the first half, Purdue started its scoring bursts largely because of turnovers. Purdue had nine steals and scored 24 points off 21 Middle Tennessee turnovers.
"Once we started pressuring their guards, we made some things happen," Keady said. "Now we're starting to make some progress. It's back like we used to when we had a lot more possessions than the other team."
William Pippen, the nephew of the NBA's Scottie Pippen, led the Blue Raiders (1-5) with 10 points.
Kilgore had 10 points and Matt Kiefer added eight points and led Purdue with six rebounds and four assists.
With Buckley, David Teague and Kiefer on the court in the second half, Purdue built the lead to 55-36. The Boilermakers closed the game on a 20-7 run.
"When it goes bad for our team, it goes bad for a long spell," said Blue Raiders coach Kermit Davis. "Purdue was a little more physical."
The Boilermakers are coming off their two worst seasons in the Gene Keady era, missing the NCAA tournament each year and losing all eight Big Ten road games a year ago. This year, however, they're receiving votes in the Top 25 poll and could pad this year's record with a soft nonconfence schedule. They play only one ranked team - Indiana - in their next seven games before the Big Ten season opens on Jan. 11. Five of those games are at Mackey Arena and they play the Hoosiers in the RCA Dome.
Their only true road game is Dec. 21 in the Las Vegas Classic.
"We've made progress, but I think we've got a long way to go until we can win a Big Ten game on the road," said Keady.
Purdue played without Ivan Kartelo (dislocated right elbow) and Brandon McKnight (pulled hamstring).