Feb. 2, 2000
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue got a wake-up call at halftime, and came back to defeat Northwestern in men's basketball action, 70-51, Wednesday night at Mackey Arena.
The Boilermakers (14-7, 5-3 Big Ten) held the Wildcats (4-16, 0-8) without a field goal for more than 11 minutes during the second half, turning a 33-25 deficit into a 54-39 lead in the process with a decisive 29-6 run.
Prior to that, the Wildcats had given the favored Boilermakers all they could handle. In fact, in the first half, NU played some of its best defense of the entire season.
Purdue entered Wednesday's contest last in the Big Ten in field-goal accuracy with a 38 percent mark in conference play, and the Wildcats gave them few opportunities to improve on that in the first half. As a result, Northwestern led 26-23 at halftime, as the Boilermakers had more turnovers (10) than field goals (6). Purdue shot 32 percent (6-for-19) and had one stretch where they hit just one field goal during a span of more than nine minutes.
The cold spell began after Greg McQuay's basket gave the Boilers an 11-4 lead with 13:51 left in the opening half. Purdue's next field goal came with 7:30 remaining when Mike Robinson rebounded his missed shot and put in back in, retaining a 15-13 edge for the Boilermakers. However, Purdue then had another three-minute stretch without a field goal before Maynard Lewis hit a 3-pointer with 3:57 remaining.
At the other end, meanwhile, two 3-pointers and a jumper by Ben Johnson sparked the Wildcats to their biggest lead of the opening half (24-18) with 2:34 left.
That lead extended into the early portions of the second half, when a Brody Deren field goal gave the 'Cats their largest lead of the night at 33-25. At that point, Purdue ratcheted up the defense and roared back on offense. By the time Steve Lepore hit a 3-pointer with 6:18 remaining to end Northwestern's cold shooting stretch, Purdue had opened up a double-digit lead en route to victory.
Brian Cardinal led Purdue with 19 points, including 13 in the second half. Mike Robinson contributed a double-double to the victory with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Maynard Lewis had 12, including nine during a key run where Purdue scored 18 consecutive points to lead 48-35.
Lepore was the only Northwestern player in double figures with 13 points and also led the 'Cats with six rebounds. Another sophomore, David Newman, had his second straight impressive outing, dishing off eight assists and collecting four steals.
Northwestern's young team got into foul trouble early in the second stanza and it cost them. The Boilermakers got into the bonus with 14:44 to play and had the double bonus for the final eight minutes. Spurred by that, Purdue outscored the Wildcats 25-9 from the line for the game, taking 31 foul shots while NU shot just 14 total.
In the second half, Purdue pulled away while shooting 52 percent (14-for-26) from the field while Northwestern made just six of 21 attempts.
Northwestern will be back in action Saturday afternoon, hosting Indiana University at Welsh-Ryan Arena at 2:15 p.m. Central.