Jan 11, 2003
Purdue-Northwestern Statistics in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Box Score?|? Quotes?|? Notes?|? Photo Gallery
By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Willie Deane scored a season-high 23 points and Kenny Lowe added 14 as Purdue beat Northwestern 82-68 Saturday.
The Boilermakers are 9-3 for the second time in three seasons and won their Big Ten opener for the first time in two years. They've won all eight games this year at Mackey Arena.
Purdue hung on despite playing without Deane, who fouled out, for the final 2:17. The Wildcats (8-5, 0-2) trailed by 11 then, but Jitim Young drove the lane for consecutive layups to make it 71-64.
Purdue's Brandon McKnight was fouled but missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Chris Booker, though, grabbed the offensive rebound and this time Melvin Buckley was at the line. He made one of two free throws to give Purdue a 72-64 lead.
Young, who led the Wildcats with 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting, would add two from the line to make it 72-66.
Lowe, Buckley and Booker all made free throws in the final 1:30 to seal the win. The Boilermakers went 25-for-32 from the line while Northwestern was only 7-for-8.
Buckley and McKnight each scored 10 for Purdue, which shot 53 percent from the field.
Aaron Jennings scored 14 points for the Wildcats.
The Boilermakers led 38-30 at the half and five times had a 10-point lead in the second. Northwestern pulled to 64-60 with 5:30 left but the Boilermakers scored the next seven points and finally pushed their lead to 11 to give them some breathing room.
Northwestern led 21-15 midway through the first before Purdue regained its offensive rhythm. Buckley tied the score at 25 with a 3-pointer, McKnight put the Boilermakers ahead for good with two free throws and Deane and David Teague both added 3s during a 23-9 run.