Feb. 26, 1997
Boilermakers Beat Back Northwestern
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Chad Austin had a tough shooting night but managed to score 20 points to lead Purdue over slumping Northwestern Wednesday night.
Austin shot 5-for-16 from the floor but made three three-pointers and was 7-for-8 from the free throw line for Purdue (16-10, 11-5).
This was also the night that Purdue's string of three consecutive Big Ten championships came to an end when Minnesota beat Michigan to wrap up the 1997 title.
Northwestern (7-20, 2-14) led 29-28 at halftime and Purdue was still clinging to a 2-point lead (56-54) with less than six minutes to play. Then the Boilermakers went on a 13-4 run to sew up the game.
Northwestern coach Ricky Byrdsong has resigned effective the end of the season.
Evan Eschmeyer led Northwestern with 21 points. Brian Cardinal had 15 points and Alan Eldredge 10 to support Austin.
PURDUE (72)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Cornell 29 4-8 5-5 2-4 0 1 15
Cardinal 15 0-2 1-2 1-3 2 4 1
Miller 34 2-7 4-5 1-7 2 3 8
Austin 38 5-16 7-8 2-2 0 1 20
Eldridge 28 4-7 2-3 0-3 3 2 10
Barnes 1 0-0 1-2 0-0 0 0 1
Mcquay 25 2-3 3-3 1-5 0 4 7
Kerkhof 1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Ten Dam 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
Robinson 26 3-8 4-4 4-6 4 1 10
Gilvydis 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
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TOTALS 200 20-51 27-32 11-31 11 19 72
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Percentages: FG-.392, FT-.844. 3-Point Goals:
5-15, .333 (Cornell 2-3, Cardinal 0-1, Miller
0-1, Austin 3-8, Eldridge 0-1, Robinson 0-1).
Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 3 (Miller 2,
Cardinal). Turnovers: 13 (Austin 4, Cardinal 4,
Cornell 2, Eldridge, Miller, Robinson). Steals: 7
(Cornell 2, Eldridge 2, Austin, Gilvydis, Miller).
NORTHWESTERN (61)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Branch 32 3-8 2-6 1-4 2 2 10
Ammons 23 5-8 0-0 3-7 1 5 11
Eschmeyer 39 7-8 7-8 3-7 3 3 21
Bonner 40 1-7 1-2 0-3 1 3 3
Johnson 36 2-9 2-2 1-3 3 3 6
Harmsen 17 4-8 0-1 1-4 1 2 8
Hanlon 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Pomeday 11 0-2 2-2 0-0 2 5 2
Molnar 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
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TOTALS 200 22-50 14-21 9-28 13 23 61
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Percentages: FG-.440, FT-.667. 3-Point Goals:
3-14, .214 (Branch 2-6, Ammons 1-1, Bonner 0-4,
Johnson 0-2, Pomeday 0-1). Team rebounds: 5.
Blocked shots: 2 (Eschmeyer 2). Turnovers: 18
(Ammons 6, Johnson 3, Bonner 2, Branch 2,
Eschmeyer, Harmsen, Pomeday). Steals: 6 (Bonner
3, Ammons, Eschmeyer, Johnson).
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Purdue 28 44 - 72
Northwestern 29 32 - 61
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Technical fouls: None. A: 4,277. Officials: Verl
Sell, Sam Lickliter, Tom Rucker.