No. 8 Boilermakers Beat The Illini

Six of the previous seven times Purdue and Illinois met on the basketball court, the visitor came out victorious.

No. 8 Purdue denied Illinois a chance to make it seven of eight for the visitors Saturday as the Boilermakers overcame an 11-0 blitz to start the game and then held on for a 75-72 in a battle for the Big Ten lead.

Purdue (22-4, 10-2) was led by Chad Austin with 26 points, including a 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining that gave the Boilermakers a 74-70 lead.

Brad Miller, who made his only field goal attempt in the first half, finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Mike Robinson, starting for the injured Jaraan Cornell, added 12 points and Brian Cardinal, whose father is the Illinois team trainer, finished with 10.

Jerry Hester paced Illinois (18-8, 10-3) with 27 points. Hester nearly sent the contest in overtime, missing a long 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Kevin Turner added 23 points for the Illini, while Matt Heldman had 11.

The victory kept the Boilermakers one-half game behind first-place Michigan State (11-2) in the Big Ten standings. Michigan State beat Minnesota 71-59 Saturday night.

"We've been staying pretty focused," Miller said. "We had enough composure to stay together and fight back from being down early. We've been down a couple of times at halftime and just get refocused."

Illinois hit its first seven shots, including four from 3-point range, to lead 19-4 on Turner's 3-pointer with 14:30 left in the first half.

Turner's jumper with 12:18 left gave the Illini their biggest lead, 21-8.

Gary McQuay's 3-pointer capped a 12-2 Purdue run over the next 4:30, pulling the Boilermakers within 21-16.

Behind Turner's 14 points, Illinois led 36-30 at halftime.

Purdue kept close in the opening 20 minutes by hitting 11 of 15 free throws, while the Illini were perfect on five attempts.

Free throw shooting spelled much of the difference as Purdue finished 26-of-37 compared to 8-of-9 for Illinois.

Illinois had three players - Jarrod Gee, Brian Johnson and Sergio McClain - foul out.

The Boilermakers' press was in full stride to start the second half, aiding a 7-0 run that gave them a 37-36 lead.

"We try to dominate the first five minutes of the game, the last five minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half," said coach Gene Keady, who is 18-16 against Illinois in 18 years at Purdue. "So, I guess of one out of three isn't bad."

The Boilermakers never led until Cardinal converted a three-point play off a steal to cap the opening second-half run with 18:37 left.

After Hester's two free throws tied it 45-45 with 14:24 left, Cardinal scored four straight points to put the Boilermakers ahead to stay.

Miller's layup with 9:32 remaining gave Purdue its biggest lead, 62-52, but the Illini refused to wilt, pulling within 71-70 on Hester's three-point play with 1:02 remaining.

Cornell injured his left nkle during the opening three minutes last Tuesday night against Indiana.

"The kids cover for each other," Keady said. "Certainly they've done a good job of not folding when a key player has been out. "

"I'm not sure if he'll be back by Penn State (Feb. 21). If he's back playing for the Iowa game (Feb. 18), that will be a plus."

Miller indicated Cornell's 3-point shooting has been missed.

"He is instant offense, especially early in the game when he can get 10 or 12 points," Miller said. "Mike Robinson has helped a lot in offensive rebounding, where we do need help."

Illinois coach Lon Krueger was pleased with his team's effort.
"It was a good ballgame," Krueger said. "Both teams played extremely hard. We made a run in the second half and it got pretty exciting in the final minutes."

"But, Purdue is a great team. They're experienced and have size, especially inside. It was really too much for us. Chad Austin is a terrific player and made some big-time shots. We certainly would have liked someone else shoot that final shot."

Austin also hit a late 3-pointer in Purdue's 94-89 victory earlier this week against Indiana.

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