Purdue youngsters Swanigan, Thompson send seniors out in style
By KEITH CARRELL
ISL Correspondent
Purdue’s underclassmen sent their four seniors out in style with a 91-80 victory over Wisconsin on Sunday in the final game of the Big Ten regular season.
The win put Purdue in a four-way tie for third in the Big Ten, behind Big Ten champion Indiana and runner-up Michigan State. Purdue finished 12-6 in conference play as did Maryland, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The win also allowed the Boilermakers to earn the fourth seed, and the double-bye which comes with it, in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Boilermakers and Badgers have typically held defensive slugfests when they’ve met one another in recent years, but Sunday was no slugfest; it was a shootout. Purdue was able to complete the season sweep behind career-best scoring performances by freshman Caleb Swanigan (27 points, 6-7 FG, 14-17 FT, 8 Rebs) and sophomore P.J. Thompson (22 points, 6-8 FG, 4-5 FT, 4 Ast), who combined for 49 of Purdue’s 91 points.
Here are the highlights, courtesy of the Big Ten Network:
Purdue struck first with an A.J. Hammons’ (16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) dunk, but Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ put on a couple of crafty spin
moves to get the better of the Purdue senior in the early stages of the first half on his way to eight quick points. Happ kick started Wisconsin’s offense, but the rest of the Badgers chipped in to draw out a seven point lead two thirds of the way through the opening stanza.
The first half was physical, a throwback game (fittingly, Purdue wore its throwback uniforms) where referees let Big Ten teams battle each other. In a rare occurrence, neither team was in the bonus by the end of the first half and Purdue committed just two fouls. The allowed physicality may have come to a head when 7’2” Isaac Haas was thrown to the ground. As with most contact in the first half, the referees did not call a foul and play continued, but the fans let the referees hear their distaste for the excessive action. Not to be outdone, Purdue head coach Matt Painter called a timeout on the ensuing possession, seemingly just to give the officiating crew an earful for not calling a foul.
And then, just like that, a trigger was flipped in Thompson that resulted in an onslaught of treys to lead Purdue on a 10-0 run to give Purdue a 34-31 lead with 4:39 remaining in the first half. Between the hot shooting by Purdue and the aggressive play, there was a very palpable energy in Mackey. Thompson kept the streak going just before halftime when he sank his fifth three pointer of the half to vault Purdue into a 45-39 lead.
Out of the break, bucking the norm, Purdue continued its hot streak while holding Wisconsin scoreless for the first three minutes. Purdue’s lead had ballooned to 13 behind a Swanigan jumper before Zak Showalter nailed a three to end Wisconsin’s drought. Purdue’s lead stayed in and near the teens for the majority of the second half, but Wisconsin began to apply a full court press against Purdue, which netted early success with just over eight minutes left in regulation. The lead reached single digits and got as close as seven points with 4:46 to play, when Purdue began to break the press and pull away again, largely due to free throw shooting (22-29 in the half). The referees called a mostly even game but blew their whistles with increasing vigor throughout the second half (30 combined fouls in the closing half) and both teams found themselves in the bonus early. Swanigan (14-17 FT in the half) and Nigel Hayes (11-12 FT in the half, 30 points in the game) appeared to trade buckets from the charity stripe down the stretch.
Because Purdue was able to withstand Wisconsin’s rally, the Boilermakers unquestionably improved their seeding in the Big Ten Tournament and likely improved their position for the NCAA Tournament as well. Purdue did not have a flawless season, especially in Big Ten play, but the team has appeared to grow in the late stages of conference play and will take a three game winning streak into their first tilt in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday.
Following the win, an overwhelming majority of fans remained in their seats to honor Purdue’s four seniors: Stephen Toyra, Johnny Hill, Hammons, and Rapheal Davis. Painter began introductions with a throwback of his own to the Gene Keady era when he borrowed an oft-used phrase from Keady to say that Hill was a “happy warrior.” Painter briefly touched on the season, obviously proud of his team, but also acknowledging that there may have been some additional wins left on the table.
“Representing the hometown; I love to do that,” the seldom-used Toyra mentioned as he kicked off the player speeches before handing the microphone off to Hill. In his only season at Purdue as a grad transfer, Hill explained that he chose Purdue because it gave him the best chance to play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his career before saying to the school and the fans, “Thanks for choosing me.”
Hammons, who had seriously considered a jump to the NBA after his junior season, but wisely returned to refine his skill and attempt to work his way into the discussion of being a potential NBA first round draft selection, then took the stage. Hammons, in a fashion ever so suited for him, had a short ad-libbed speech before saying, “I just want to thank y’all.” Hammons had admitted in a radio interview earlier in the week that he was hoping to see Davis cry during senior night festivities, so he then handed the microphone over the Davis with hopeful anticipation.
Much to Hammons’ chagrin, Davis did not weep, but he appeared blissful as he looked back on his engagement with the school. “It’s been a long eight years” the team’s captain began and then continued, “I committed to Purdue my freshman year.” Davis then barbed, “I’m going to pretty much thank everybody; I’m going to be here for a while.” True to his word, Davis did thank virtually everyone present, and even gave a heartfelt nod to his late grandmother before he and the other seniors were applauded and sent off behind the familiar sounds of the school song they’ve heard endless times before. The story is not complete yet, though, merely just a chapter of it, as the team will next compete for a Big Ten Tournament title in the upcoming week before advancing to the NCAA Tournament to try to cap off a memorable run for these seniors who returned the program to prosperity.
Quick Hits:
The win gave Purdue a school record 17th home victory… It was the most points Purdue scored against Wisconsin in my lifetime (last time the Boilermakers broke 91 was when they scored 100 on January 19th, 1986)… Purdue was highly effective and unselfish on the offensive end. The Boilermakers assisted on 23 of their 28 field goals and connected on 62% of their field goals, 53% of their threes (including 67% in the first half), and 76% of their free throw attempts… Purdue has not lost back-to-back games this season, but the current three game winning streak is the first back-to-back wins the Boilers had earned since the end of January… The Wisconsin sweep this year was a scheduling fluke as the teams were both the first and last games of Big Ten action… Next year’s class is not loaded with seniors (Kendall Stephens and Basil Smotherman the only juniors on the current roster), but a plethora of experience is expected to return to the team, most notably starters Vince Edwards, Swanigan, and Thompson as well as key reserves Haas, Dakota Mathias, Stephens, and Ryan Cline; Smotherman also returns after redshirting this season… Stephens again was a healthy non-participant… Jacquil Taylor returned to the active roster after being absent with a concussion for multiple contests; he played the final minute of the game… Purdue’s first game in the Big Ten Tournament will likely tip off around 2:30 pm Friday afternoon and their opponent is likely to be Iowa; if they win, they’ll probably face the Hoosiers in the semifinals.
