No. 23 Purdue Buries Gophers

With its offense stalled, No. 23 Purdue made its defense work to beat Minnesota 54-42 Tuesday night.

The Boilermakers (19-9, 7-7 Big Ten) overcame 36.5 percent shooting with an aggressive defensive effort that produced a season-high 25 turnovers by Minnesota.

Quincy Lewis, Minnesota's leading scorer at 24.5 points per game, was held to a season-low 13 points with Alan Eldridge making the biggest defensive effort against Lewis.

"I just wanted to try and deny the ball. Once he gets the ball, he's a good offensive player," Eldridge said. "I tried to force him to where my help was."

His teammates noticed what he did.

"I was really proud of Alan. We gave him the game ball. He did a great job on Quincy," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "We just played good team defense and did a super job. He listened in practice and did a good job in taking the curls away."

Minnesota coach Clem Haskins said his team was partly responsible.

"They were very physical with Quincy, but we need to find a way to get him open," he said.

Brian Cardinal scored all 15 of his points in the first half, including 11 in a decisive 21-2 run at the end of the first half when the Boilermakers took the lead for good.

"Cardinal was the difference in this game. He is a smart, heady player and knows how to get in the passing lanes. He played for me this summer and that is how you win a gold medal (in the Goodwill Games), with players like Brian," Haskins said.

Purdue went 7-of-9 from the field while holding Minnesota to only one field goal over the final seven minutes of the first half.

Minnesota, which lost to Purdue for the 10th time in 12 meetings, fell behind by 14 points when Eldridge scored to start the second half. The Golden Gophers managed to pull within six points early in the half, but were unable to draw closer.

Minnesota (15-9, 6-8) was leading 19-12 before Purdue's run, which began when Cardinal hit a 3-pointer with 5:48 left in the half.

"It was a must win game," said Cardinal, who had four of Purdue's 15 steals. "I was just out there trying to play hard. I got a couple of shots to fall. ... I knew someone had to step up and I just tried to be that guy."

Hoping to finish in the top five of the Big Ten to secure a first-round bye in next week's conference tournament and boost their hopes for an at-large berth when NCAA bids go out on March 7, Purdue overcame cold shooting to lead 33-21 at halftime.

The Boilermakers fell behind by going 4-of-16 from the field to start the game and made just three of 10 free throws over the first 15 minutes. Minnesota, meanwhile, hurt itself with 10 turnovers in the first 15 minutes and finished the half with 14.

Cardinal contributed a second 3-pointer with the score tied 21-21 to put the Boilermakers ahead to stay and his three-point play gave his team a 27-21 lead with 1:41 remaning in the opening half.

The game was a makeup for one canceled by a snowstorm on Jan. 2. The teams will play again at Minnesota on Thursday.

©1999 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed