Purdue's stars team up to drop SIU
For the first time in their coaching careers, Purdue's Matt Painter and Southern Illinois' Chris Lowery put their mirror-image teams to the test.
Well, it's not quite fair to say the Boilers and the Salukis reflected each other in every aspect.
While both ran the motion offense and played their trademark man-to-man defense where no ballhandler goes unattacked, only Purdue had two potential All-Americans on its roster.
Seniors E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson combined for 37 of Purdue's 40 points midway through the game to turn a tight affair into a blowout.
Moore finished with a game-high 31 points and 9 rebounds as No. 10 Purdue moved into the Chicago Invitational Challenge title game with a 79-60 victory Friday night at Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.
“We told these guys E'Twaun would be the best guy we've seen so far,” said Lowery, whose team lost by 22 at Illinois on Nov. 13. “He's cerebral, he's smart, he's patient. He hit tough shots.
“The two seniors, they went exclusively to those two guys. That's a credit to them knowing where their bread and butter is.”
After starting 1-for-9 from the floor, Moore hit his final 9 shots.
Johnson added 18 points and 3 blocks for the Boilers (5-0), who'll face Richmond (5-1) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the title game on Big Ten Network.
SIU (2-3) led for most of the first half until Moore and Johnson seized control. Their run started in the final 90 seconds of the first half with Purdue up 30-26 and didn't end until it was 70-52 with 5:33 left.
“Any time you struggle or something doesn't go your way, we know what our bread and butter is,” Painter said. “We've got to get them the basketball and at least play through those guys.”
Clearly, Bruce Weber's former SIU assistants know what their bread-and-butter phrases are.
While SIU's defense won the first 15 minutes, Purdue's pressure carried the day. The Boilers forced 25 turnovers, including 11 travels.
Six-foot-9, 290-pound sophomore center Gene Teague traveled six times in 22 minutes as Purdue double-teamed him whenever he touched the ball in the post.
“Some of our guys played like they had roller skates on,” Lowery said. “I can't explain it. That's the most travels I've ever seen. But if we did it, we did it. We've got to watch film and correct it.”
The Salukis, who got 17 points from Justin Bocot, face Wright State at 4 p.m. in the de facto third-place game.
Richmond 71, Wright State 61:
Dan Geriot's 3-pointer with 4:44 left erased the game's final tie, and the Spiders pulled away late to reach the title game.
Geriot led the way with 18 points as Richmond shot 52 percent from the floor. Senior guard N'Gai Evans delivered a career-high 24 points for Wright State (3-2).
Oakland 105, Southern 53:
Keith Benson and Will Hudson combined for 38 points, 27 rebounds and 4 blocks as the Golden Grizzlies dominated the Jaguars. Oakland (2-3), which faces Austin Peay at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, outrebounded Southern 55-25.
Austin Peay 70, Charleston Southern 64:
Junior forward Anthony Campbell produced a career-high-tying 24 points to pace the Governors (3-3) in Friday's first game. Jamarco Warren scored 18 points for Charleston Southern (2-4), which will play Southern at 11 a.m.