Jan 25, 2003
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By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - As Purdue sprinted on the court during its pregame introductions to a raucous crowd that for once drowned out the band, coach Gene Keady felt that energy would rub off on his team.
When Indiana treated lineup introductions like a walkthrough, coach Mike Davis knew the Hoosiers were in trouble.
Kenny Lowe scored 19 points, Willie Deane had 18 and Chris Booker 13 as Purdue dominated from start to finish in a 69-47 win Saturday over No. 14 Indiana.
"We tend to take a lot of energy from our crowd," Keady said. "Our crowd really helped us."
The Boilermakers (12-4, 4-1 Big Ten) snapped a five-game losing streak to the Hoosiers (14-4, 4-2) and improved to 10-0 at home. It was their first win over a Top-25 team since they beat No. 9 Illinois on Jan. 9, 2002. Purdue was 1-12 in its last 13 games against ranked teams.
"We're starting to do some things where we can beat good teams," Keady said.
Purdue beat Louisville just before it entered the Top 25 and defeated Michigan State the day after it fell out of the poll.
The win showed that after two years of mediocrity - and no NCAA tournament appearances - the Boilermakers are once again a team to be reckoned with in conference play are off to their best start in three years.
"A lot of people still think we're the team from last year and it makes me sick," Lowe said. "We're not getting respect because of the team of last year."
Purdue did plenty of good things against Indiana and controlled the game from the outset, thanks largely to guards Lowe and Deane.
Lowe hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 points and Deane had seven points in the first 10 minutes, as Purdue jumped to a 22-12 lead and never let the lead dip below 11.
Lowe made his first six shots and scored 17 points in the first half.
"He certainly was the guy that ignited us," Keady said. "He has that type of charisma that can get teams going."
Keady was concerned about Purdue's ability to maintain its energy in the second half, but it was unnecessary.
The Hoosiers, who trailed 37-25 at halftime, pulled within 11 four minutes into the second half, but Purdue scored the next eight points and would lead by as many as 24.
"We came out and played better," Keady said. "I thought we played the first four or five minutes of the second half better than the first."
Tom Coverdale led the Hoosiers with 13 points and A.J. Moye had 11. Indiana had season lows in points, field-goal shooting (29.3), and 3-point shooting (3-for-20).
Davis was so angry and disappointed in his team, that he wouldn't relay to the media his postgame speech to the Hoosiers.
"I'm going to have to ask God to forgive me for a lot of the things I said in there," he said.
Purdue, playing at home against Indiana for the first time in two years, evened this season's series.
Indiana beat Purdue 66-63 in December in a nonconference game largely because of the inside play of Newton and Leach, who combined for 27 points and 26 rebounds. Neither player was a factor Saturday. Leach failed to make a field goal and went scoreless and Newton was only 2-for-14 for seven points.
Leach got on Davis' bad side early, when he walked out onto the court during introductions. Davis said he should have benched him right there for setting a bad example.
"There are no excuses. You make sure you hustle out," Davis said. "You better be a bad man to do that. That set the tone for us."
Late in the fourth, Purdue center Ivan Kartelo blocked Leach's shot and Darmetreis Kilgore hit a jumper in transition to make it 57-40.
Booker's three-point play made it 61-40 and caused the exodus of most of the roughly 1,500 Indiana fans that made the trip. The IU fans were never a factor in the 14,123-seat Mackey Arena, sold out for the first time this season.
Bracey Wright, the second-leading scorer in the Big Ten, missed the game with a nerve injury in his back. The Hoosiers had gone 3-0 in his absence.
Wright could have played, but Davis wanted to give him a few more days of rest. Considering the outcome, Davis made the right choice.
"I had no idea it was going to be a massacre the way it was," he said.
The Boilermakers now lead the series 106-77.
"We've had a lot of wins against Indiana, just not lately, so this feels good," Keady said.