Boilermakers block Terrapins’ last shot
TOP 25 MEN NO. 3 PURDUE 62, MARYLAND 61
WEST LAFAYTTE, Ind. — Purdue forward Trevion Williams credited pregame preparation for his game-saving block.
Williams rejected a layup try by Donta Scott in the final seconds and No. 3 Purdue, boosted by Jaden Ivey’s goahead three-point play, held off Maryland 62-61 on Sunday.
“Scott is one of the best in the league and I figured it wasn’t him it would be (Fatts) Russell,” Williams said of the final shot. “I had that in the back of my mind. It just comes with personnel and preparing for the game. I just did my best to wall it up and get a stop.”
Scott drove hard to the basket from the right baseline, but Williams blocked the shot with five seconds left. The Boilermakers (22-4, 11-4 Big Ten) corralled the loose ball, completing a rally from a 12-point deficit midway through the second half.
“I thought we deserved to win, in the clip I saw from one of our guys on the staff, I thought Donta got fouled,” Maryland interim coach Danny Manning said.
It was 59-all when Ivey shook loose down the lane for his three-point play with 13.1 seconds left.
Russell then was fouled and hit both free throws for the Terrapins with 8.1 seconds remaining.
Purdue committed a turnover on the inbound pass, giving the Terrapins a shot. Purdue Coach Matt Painter said because the clock had started in error on the previous inbound attempt, Purdue was not allowed to run the baseline.
Painter said he wasn’t aware the clock had changed to 7.8 seconds and tried to run the same play. He said he asked the referee if they were just redoing it.
“To me if we are redoing this, we can still run the baseline and throw the ball along the baseline,” Painter said “So that was my error. In the process of everything, I’m not locked into the time.”
Russell led the Terrapins (11-14, 3-11) with 24 points.
Sasha Stefanovic scored 17 points, Williams added 12 and Ivey had 11 for Purdue. Zach Edey contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Ivey shot 1 for 8 before his three-point play.
“I was trying to make a play for the team, so we could win this game,” he said. “I struggled obviously, but I want to win most importantly.”
Trailing 26-23 at halftime, the Terrapins regained the lead by scoring the first 12 points on the second half.
After Maryland took its largest lead at 48-36 with 11 minutes left, Purdue responded with 14 consecutive points for a 50-48 edge with 7:42 remaining.
The Terrapins played without leading scorer Eric Ayala, who was out with a wrist injury. Ayala, a starting guard, is averaging 15.1 points. Xavier Green started in his place.
“We did some things well enough to give us a chance to win,” Manning said. “I loved the effort and moxie. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but that effort and moxie gave us the chance to compete with one of the better teams in the country.”
NO. 13 ILLINOIS 73, NORTHWESTERN 66
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Kofi Cockburn had 19 points and 15 rebounds as Illinois staved off a late comeback bid by Northwestern.
Illinois led by 18 points after Alfonso Plummers’ three-pointer with 13:05 left, but Northwestern responded with a 19-2 run to pull within one point with 6:16 to go.
The Illini (18-6, 11-3 Big Ten) turned to 7-foot center Cockburn, who scored six consecutive points for a 61-56 lead. Illinois remained in first place in the conference.
Ty Berry came off the bench to lead the Wildcats (12-11, 5-9 Big Ten) with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4 of 6 from three-point range.
NO. 24 UCONN 63, ST. JOHN’S 60
NEW YORK — Tyrese Martin scored all 17 of his points in the second half and UConn rallied past St. John’s at Madison Square Garden.
R.J. Cole added 14 points and Andre Jackson grabbed 16 rebounds to help the weary Huskies (17-7, 8-5 Big East) win despite shooting only 36% from the floor. They swept the season series from St. John’s and moved into sole possession of third place in the conference standings behind Villanova and first-place Providence.
Montez Mathis had 14 points off the bench to spark the Red Storm (13-11, 5-8), who played without star point guard Posh Alexander for the second consecutive game. Julian Champagnie and Aaron Wheeler each had 13 points for St. John’s.