Despite leading by double digits for most of the game, the Northwestern Wildcats found a way to lose Thursday night, succumbing to the No. 19 Purdue Boilermakers 63-61. The loss, Northwestern’s fourth straight, dropped the ‘Cats to 8-6 overall and 0-4 in Big Ten play. Purdue, meanwhile, improved to 13-4 and 2-2 in the Big Ten.
With under eight minutes to play, the ‘Cats looked to be in control with an eleven point lead. However, a resilient Purdue team rallied and took its first lead of the game when Keaton Grant nailed a three with 1:10 to play. Grant’s three pointer sparked a deafening chant of “Let’s Go Boilers” from the Purdue faithful, who made up at least half of Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Somehow, Northwestern kept its cool and tied the game on a Kevin Coble basket and even had a chance to take the lead after Purdue failed to score on their ensuing possession. But Northwestern junior Jeremy Nash was unable to make a layup on a fast break and the Boilermakers got the ball back. With 2.2 seconds left, Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson was fouled by Northwestern junior Jeff Ryan. Johnson calmly made both free throws and after Craig Moore missed his desperate heave at the buzzer, the Boilermakers could celebrate an improbable victory.
The ‘Cats were doomed down the stretch by poor free throw shooting and several missed layups. Overall, NU shot 65 percent from the charity stripe but made only half of their free throws in the game’s final eight minutes.
Another source of strife was Northwestern’s inside play. The Boilermakers out rebounded the ‘Cats 39-23. For the fourth game in a row, the Wildcats freshman center Kyle Rowley failed to contribute. Rowley did not score a single point and sat on the bench during the whole second half. Overall, it has been a rough start for the recruit who was supposed to give the ‘Cats an inside game for the first time in years. Rowley, who is seven feet tall and 280 pounds, has not scored more than five points in any Big Ten game thus far.
Craig Moore and Kevin Coble led the way for the ‘Cats with 16 points apiece. The leading scorer for Purdue was Robbie Hummel, who finished with 15 points.
Despite the tough loss, Northwestern can look at several positive things about Thursday’s game as they prepare for this Sunday’s match at home against Minnesota. For the majority of the game, the Boilermakers were unable to crack the ‘Cats defense. Northwestern also played with an intensity that was missing during the last three games. The high point in that department had to be a put-back dunk by Ivan Peljusic early in the second half. The student section exploded as Peljusic hung onto the rim and roared.