Cline helps Purdue beat Northwestern in shaky performance for Boilers
By KEITH CARRELL
ISL Correspondent
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. _ Freshman guard Ryan Cline knocked down critical threes to help Purdue put Northwestern away 71-61 in an otherwise lackluster performance.
The Boilermakers just needed to win this game, arguably their easiest tilt remaining on paper, to help propel them into the postseason.
Coming off of a meltdown performance against Michigan, Purdue likely would have liked to start the game with a bang, but this game began with a loud thud. It wasn’t just Purdue, though _ Northwestern and even the officials chipped in on this occasion. The opening tip was such an ill-launched ball that the officials had to stop play and redo the tip (both secured by Purdue).
Here are the highlights from Big Ten Network:
Purdue got the show started with Caleb Swanigan missing a close-range shot, A.J. Hammons snaring the rebound and kicking it out to Rapheal Davis, Davis then attempted to re-enter the ball into Hammons and instead passed the ball out of bounds.
Northwestern took the cue from there, and executed the saddening open to a T. The Wildcats did not score until 14:35 remained in the first half when Gavin Skelly knocked down a three. To illustrate that pitiful start, Northwestern managed to miss eight field goal attempts, picked up two fouls, and had an unforced turnover prior to Skelly’s three. Purdue wasn’t to be outdone by much, though, as the Boilermakers had equally sloppy play and were only able to accumulate eight points during Northwestern’s opening drought.
Purdue did eventually get in gear, a little over halfway through the first half. The Boilers eventually went on a 10-2 run over a four-minute stretch to advance the lead to 31-17 with 3:37 left in the opening stanza. Northwestern wasn’t down for the count though, as Purdue began their too-familiar second half swoon a little early. The Wildcats ended the first half on an 8-2 run, including the final six points, to trim Purdue’s lead to 35-27 at the break.
Purdue’s lead continued to shrink as the second half began; Northwestern got as close as four points coming out of the first media timeout. Over that span from the closing minutes of the first half to the first four minutes of the second half, Northwestern went on a 16-6 run. Purdue was unable to get into an offensive rhythm for most of the second half (at one point making fewer than 15% of their shot attempts in the half), but were able to maintain a small lead at the free throw line; Purdue was in the double-bonus with nearly twelve minutes remaining in the second half. Northwestern was fouling so frequently that Derek Pardon fouled out of the contest with 8:50 remaining and six other Wildcats had at least three fouls in the game.
Unlike in some of Purdue’s losses, where the second half struggles never got corrected, Purdue finally found an answer in the form of Cline and Johnny Hill. Cline bookended a pair of threes around two free throws from Hill to extend the lead to nine points.
“I think that was a pretty big turning point in the game,” Cline said.
Hill capped off the critical sequence by knocking down a three of his own, his first made triple in a Purdue uniform, and then proceeded to poke the ball out of Alex Olah’s grasp for a steal that led to a Hill-assisted layup by Hammons on the other end which extended Purdue’s lead to 14, effectively putting the game out of reach with four and a half minutes to play.
“I thought our guys did a good job of just grinding out the victory,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.
Purdue will look to build on its resume with its lone matchup against Indiana Saturday in Bloomington followed by opportunities at home against Maryland and Wisconsin sandwiching a tilt at Nebraska prior to the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Although Purdue is virtually eliminated from contention of a regular season Big Ten Title, beating Nebraska and taking at least two of the other three games would certainly improve the outlook for Purdue in terms of seeding within the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
Quick Hits:
Hammons earned his eighth double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds) of the season to lead Big Ten players in that category… In doing so, Hammons now sits at fourth among Purdue’s career rebounding leaders… The victory gave Purdue its 15th home win of the season, one shy of the school record (16 in 2007, 2008, and 2011) with two home games remaining… In the offensive struggle, Purdue made nearly as many free throws (21-28) as field goals (23-60)… Purdue outrebounded Northwestern 45-24, including 19 offensive rebounds… Northwestern had more fouls (26) than made field goals (25)… The free throw differential was large, Purdue was 21-28 and Northwestern was 5-8…Jacquil Taylor was absent from the sideline after receiving an inadvertent elbow to the head courtesy of Isaac Haas in Monday’s practice… Purdue honored current and veteran United States service members throughout the game, including a special color guard presentation and court-sized flag during the national anthem as well as flags from each military branch being hung in the rafters and the band playing the Armed Forces Salute during the game.
