Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Purdue
Second-Half Shooting Propels Hoosiers Past Rival Purdue
3/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2006
Box Score
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Behind a sizzling 71.4 percent from the field in the second half, the Indiana men's basketball team notched its first road Big Ten win of the year with a 70-59 victory over archrival Purdue on March 1 at Mackey Arena. After shooting only 29 percent in the opening half, IU hit on 15-of-21 in the second stanza to defeat the Boilermakers. With the victory, Indiana improved to 16-10 overall and 8-7 in the Big Ten, while Purdue fell to 9-17 and 3-12 in the conference slate.
The 71.4 percent in the second half marked the first time IU hit at a 70-percent clip in a half since the 2002 Elite Eight victory over Kent State. In the win over the Golden Flashes on March 23, 2002, the Hoosiers connected on 13-of-18 shots in the second half, a 72.2 percent mark.
On his birthday, senior guard Marshall Strickland poured in a game-high 16 points on an efficient 5-of-7 from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line and behind the three-point arc. He also finished with seven rebounds in the victory. Sophomore guard/forward Robert Vaden equaled a career high with 12 rebounds and notched his third double-double of the season with 11 points. Junior point guard Earl Calloway had a career-high 11 points, while senior forward Marco Killingsworth rounded out the Hoosier double-digit scores with 10. Killingsworth also bettered his career high with four steals against the Boilermakers.
The Hoosiers finished the game at 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the floor, including nine three-point fields. IU also connected at an 81.2 percent (13-of-16) from the free throw line, along with 9-of-10 in the second half. Indiana also held the advantage on the boards, 35-31.
After shooting only 29 percent in the opening half, the Hoosiers knocked down their first five shots of the second half. As a result, IU turned a five-point deficit into a five-point cushion. Bryant Dillon opened the second 20 minutes with a three in front of the Boilermaker bench to extend the Purdue lead to 30-25. Indiana scored the contest's next nine points to garner a 34-30 advantage.
Killingsworth scored on a layup following a nice wrap-around dish from Calloway. Vaden evened the game with a trey from the left wing on the break, and Calloway capped the spurt with four straight points. The Atlanta, Ga., native's driving layup with 17:18 made it 34-30. On the ensuing pair of IU possessions, Strickland made the advantage five points. The first time came on a trey in front of the IU bench followed by a deep jumper over a Boiler defender. The latter pushed the IU lead to 39-34 at the 14:57 mark of the second half.
Purdue battled back with nine of the game's next 11 points to regain a slim one-point margin. Gary Ware scored on back-to-back possessions for Purdue to give the Boilers a 43-42 lead. His fade-away jumper from the left block with 9:40 left gave Purdue the lead.
The Hoosiers responded with a quick five points to recapture the advantage for good. After freshman center Ben Allen hit a trey from the top of the key to give IU a 45-43, Calloway stole the ball on the ensuing trip up the court. The finished the play with a fastbreak dunk to secure a four-point IU cushion with 8:13 left.
The lead ballooned to six after a reserve layup from Strickland and a Lewis Monroe move in the post. Posting up the smaller Boilermaker Bobby Riddell, who is 5-9, the 6-5 Hoosier guard spun to the middle of the lane and laid the ball in to give IU a 51-45 lead at the 5:52 mark.
Purdue twice drew within three on treys from Riddell and Chris Lutz. Strickland followed the latter with a deep three from the top of the key with 2:58 left. The trifecta pushed IU on top by six, 57-51, and marked his third trey of the game. Matt Kiefer pulled the Boilers to within four with a layup after a series of Purdue offensive rebounds. The Hoosiers scored the game's next five points to ice it. Calloway scored on a layup before Vaden hit a dagger from behind the arc on the right wing to put IU up, 62-53, with 1:44 remaining.
The Indiana lead reached 11 on a trio of occasions over the waning minutes, including the final margin on an open-court dunk from junior guard Roderick Wilmont. Indiana hit a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe over the last minute to seal the 70-59 victory.
A Killingsworth running hook in the lane evened the game at two, before the Boilers started a six-point spurt. Kiefer drilled back-to-back jumpers from opposite sides of the floor. Ware knocked down an open-floor jumper from 15 feet to give Purdue an 8-2 advantage just over three minutes into the contest.
Killingsworth found Vaden under the basket for an uncontested layup to halt the Boilermaker momentum and start a 12-2 Hoosier run. After neither team scored over the next nearly three minutes, Strickland notched a unique four-point play to even the contest. In transition, Calloway dished to Strickland on the right wing. As the Mt Airy, Md., native knocked down the trey, he was pushed by Purdue's Chris Lutz. He knocked down the shot from deep and then the subsequent free throw to tie it up at eight with 13:39 remaining in the first half.
A fastbreak layup by Marcus White briefly gave Purdue the advantage once against before IU scored six straight points. Allen gave IU its first lead the game with a trey from the right side in front of the Boiler bench. After setting a screen for junior guard Errek Suhr, Allen faded to the corner and hit the open trey. On the following Hoosier possession, sophomore guard A.J. Ratliff drove to the basket for a conventional three-point play to open up a 14-10 IU cushion halfway through the opening half.
The lead reached five, 18-13, following a pair of Killingsworth buckets, but Purdue stormed back with an 11-0 to take the lead. Three straight Ware baskets in the paint erased the Hoosier advantage and propelled Purdue to a 19-18 lead. Kiefer hit a pair of jumpers, including a three-pointer from the top of the key that hit off the back iron only to draw a soft enough bounce to find the basket. The trey pushed the Purdue lead to its largest of the first half at 24-18 with 2:23 left.
Monroe knocked down a three from the right wing on a tip back from Killingsworth to draw IU to within three, 24-21. Killingsworth scored on a baseline baby hook for the final halftime margin, as Purdue went to the lockerroom with a 27-25 advantage.
By virtue of its victory over Purdue, Indiana's lead in the AT&T Crimson and Gold Cup grew. The Hoosiers garner a half-point with the men's basketball win and lead the all-sport competition, 8-5. Indiana swept Purdue for the second straight season, and it marks the first time IU has swept its archrival in back-to-back seasons since the 1974-75 and 1975-76 seasons.
Indiana will wrap up the Big Ten regular season with its final road contest at Michigan on Saturday, March 4. The game is slated for 2:30 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN Plus. The contest can also be heard on the IU Radio Network with Don Fischer (play-by-play), former IU guard Todd Leary (color) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime and postgame) on the call.
