Dec 11, 2003
Purdue-Oklahoma Stats in PDF Format
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By JOEL ANDERSON
AP Sports Writer
NORMAN, Okla. - Freshman Drew Lavender hit a leaning shot in the lane with 1.1 seconds to play, lifting No. 11 Oklahoma to a 47-45 victory over No. 16 Purdue on Thursday night.
Lavender had 14 points and Kevin Bookout added 12 as the Sooners (6-0) beat their second straight Top 20 opponent in as many games. Oklahoma was coming off an 80-77 overtime win over then-No. 5 Michigan State on Saturday.
Purdue (6-1) nearly pulled out the win despite shooting 30 percent from the field.
Chris Booker's two free throws with 3:30 left in the game gave Purdue its first lead of the second half, 42-41.
But the Sooners relied on their quick-footed freshman down the stretch to remain one of the nation's most unlikely undefeated teams: Oklahoma has two freshmen and two sophomores in its starting lineup.
Bookout, a sophomore, scored the go-ahead basket on Lavender's tremendous wraparound pass from the baseline.
Purdue's David Teague hit one free throw with 11 seconds remaining to tie the game at 45, setting the stage for Lavender's off-balance shot.
Oklahoma cleared out the right side of the floor for Lavender, who drove into the lane and lofted the victory-clinching basket just over the fingertips of Brandon McKnight.
Booker led Purdue with 12 points, while Kenneth Lowe, who entered the game as the Boilermakers' leading scorer at 17.8 points per game, was held to eight on 2-of-9 shooting.
The Boilermakers were off to their best start since 1993-94, when they went 14-0.
Lavender scored 12 points in the second half.
The 5-foot-7 guard, who's generously listed at 155 pounds, also showed he's quickly adapting to the rough-and-tumble style that's come to define Kelvin Sampson's program.
During one possession early in the second half, Lavender was tumbling out of bounds near the baseline when he deftly rifled the ball off the stomach of Ivan Kartelo, Purdue's 6-11 center.
Lavender has already become a fan favorite in Norman, drawing cheers of "Dreeewww!" whenever he scores.
It was tough to tell whether smothering defense or sloppy offense was responsible for the low-scoring first half.
Purdue trailed only 21-19 at halftime despite shooting 29 percent, including a stretch when the Boilermakers went almost nine minutes between baskets.
The Sooners weren't much better: they made only one of their first 10 field goals and finished the half shooting 35 percent.
The teams combined for 25 turnovers in the first half.