Sometime late in the second half, as Purdue whittled the Wildcats’ 16-point lead to three in about five and a half minutes, flashes of Northwestern’s collapse against Ohio State on Jan. 29 crept into NU coach Bill Carmody’s mind.
“It snuck in there,” Carmody said, referring to the game in which the Cats lost an eight-point advantage by letting the Buckeyes finish with a 22-1 run.
But Saturday was a different story. NU, which led by as many as 20 points early in the second half, weathered Purdue’s late charge, sank 7-of-8 free throws in the game’s final five minutes and held on for a 67-61 win in front of 5,187 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
“It’s never easy,” Carmody said. “I thought we had a very good start, which we have not had, and so I’m pleased because we needed the win.”
The Cats (10-11, 3-6 Big Ten), behind a strong defensive effort, jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the game’s opening four minutes and never trailed. Forward Vedran Vukusic and guard T.J. Parker both hit 3-pointers in the early surge on their way to solid performances — Vukusic finished with a game-high 21 points and Parker had 18.
Purdue (5-15, 1-8) committed a season-high 23 turnovers, which the Cats converted to 24 points. The Boilermakers shot 53.1 percent from the field but attempted just five free throws, compared to the Cats’ 26. NU outscored Purdue 22-3 from the foul line.
Purdue coach Gene Keady lamented his team’s lack of energy at the start of the game.
“When they got on the bus, they had no energy, no look of urgency on their faces, and that’s exactly the way they played the first five minutes,” Keady said. “They’ve got to become more … interested in the game.”
Still, his players had enough energy to stage a furious second-half rally. NU led 53-37 with eight minutes to go when the Boilermakers made their move. After David Teague banked in a shot in the lane to trim the margin to 14, the Cats committed turnovers on their next three possessions. Purdue converted those turnovers for three buckets, cutting the lead to eight.
Guard Chris Hartley capped a 12-2 run with a 3-pointer with 4:31 remaining that made the score 55-51. With 2:13 left, jumpers by Carl Landry and Brandon McKnight sliced NU’s lead to three, 58-55.
“(We said) we have to go back and get our heads in the game,” Vukusic said.
The forward quickly answered the call. After McKnight’s jumper, Vukusic raced the other way for an unassisted layup to give the Cats a five-point cushion.
On the ensuing possession, Parker knocked the ball loose from McKnight, and Vukusic scurried over the Purdue baseline and saved the ball with a blind pass to NU forward Davor Duvancic.
Going the other way, Duvancic found Mohamed Hachad on the baseline, who went up strong for a layup.
In less than a minute, the Cats had built their lead to seven, and that was all the breathing room they needed.
Saturday marked the final hurrah for Keady at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The six-time National Coach of the Year announced before the season that this, his 25th year as Purdue’s head coach, would be his last.
Both Purdue and NU fans gave the grizzled legend a standing ovation during a pre-game tribute.
After the game, Carmody also paid his respects.
“His teams always play hard,” said Carmody, who has a 3-4 record at NU against Keady. “He’s a bulldog kind of coach — you know, go hard and all that — but he’s got a very good basketball mind.
“We’re going to miss the guy.”
Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected].
