Purdue suffers double OT loss to Northwestern

EVANSTON, ILL. — After escaping with an improbable victory over Penn State on Saturday, Purdue's men's basketball players joked and laughed through their postgame interviews.

In the dark hallways under Welsh-Ryan Arena on Tuesday, the somber Boilermakers spoke with regret about a 63-60 double-overtime loss to Northwestern.

Purdue emerged victorious from similarly perilous late-game situations earlier this season. This time, it was Drew Crawford, Tre Demps and the Wildcats who prevailed in the clutch and ended the Boilermakers' three-game losing streak.

"We had a lot of chances to put the game away and we just came up short," Purdue sophomore guard Ronnie Johnson said. "They were able to knock some shots down at the end of the game, some tough shots, and we just have to live with it."

Crawford and Demps scored 19 points apiece. Demps hit a game-tying 3-pointer late in regulation and another late in the first overtime. Crawford made a pair of baskets to help push the Wildcats to a game-changing four-point lead midway through the second overtime.

Purdue's players were already in Evanston on Tuesday when news broke of a campus shooting in which one student killed another. A moment of silence was held before the game, and Northwestern students who painted their chests to spell out "Stand With Purdue" in purple and white letters stood in the bleachers on the Wildcats' end of the floor.

But the Boilermakers said the incident did not distract from their focus for the game. Instead of taking a four-game winning streak into Saturday's home game against Wisconsin and separating itself from the bottom of the Big Ten, Purdue instead must regroup from a frustrating missed opportunity.

"We just have to look at it that we have another chance Saturday to get back at it and try to get that 'W,' " said Purdue senior guard Terone Johnson, who scored 16 points on 4 of 17 shooting.

Purdue overcame 16 turnovers and shooting woes to beat Penn State in the final seconds on Saturday. The offensive performance was even worse against Northwestern – including a season-low 27.6 percent shooting effort and a nearly 13-minute field goal drought to end regulation – and this time the Boilermakers could not summon game-saving heroics.

Sophomore center A.J. Hammons accepted his share of the blame following the game. During the first half of the season, the Boilermakers failed to consistently get the ball inside to their centers. Purdue got the ball to Hammons plenty on Tuesday, and he made just 3 of 10 field goals and 11 of 17 free throws while committing seven turnovers – half of the team's total.

While Purdue coach Matt Painter questioned the lack of foul calls relative to the contact Hammons took, he also bemoaned the lack of production relative to his 7-footer's touches.

"He's just got to find a way to put it in the bucket, make his moves and be able to be dominant down there," Ronnie Johnson said. "We're getting it to him, so he's got to be able to score."

Crawford's basket with 4:37 left in the second overtime gave Northwestern its first lead of the game, 53-51. He added another with 2:27 left to make it a four-point game.

Terone Johnson's 3-pointer with 58.4 seconds left pulled the Boilermakers within 61-58. After a Northwestern turnover, Johnson hit two free throws to make it a one-point game.

But Demps hit two free throws at the other end with 10.8 seconds left to make it 63-60. A.J. Hammons rebounded a missed Kendall Stephens 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left and a tie-up went to Purdue, but Crawford stuffed Ronnie Johnson's 3-point try on the ensuing inbounds play.

Demps also hit a game-tying 3 with 3:13 left in regulation to tie the game 43-43. He repeated the feat with 1:35 left in the first overtime, tying the game 51-51. Northwestern was 2-for-20 on 3-pointers at one point, making 1 of 12 to open the second half.

"They just simply missed shots," Painter said. "They were open, and it was a matter of time. … They had a lot of looks throughout the game that they simply just missed and we were very fortunate that was the case. Drew made a couple there late that were big-time shots."

Despite Purdue's offensive struggles, it appeared 3-point shooting would lift the Boilers to their fourth straight victory. Purdue made its first four 3s to start the second half, including one from Kendall Stephens with 12:52 left that established a 37-30 lead.

Yet that was the Boilermakers' final field goal of the half, as the Wildcats held a fourth straight opponent to 54 or fewer points in regulation. Purdue, also the Big Ten's worst free throw shooting team, made 10 of 15 at the line over the final 13 minutes.

"Just getting to the basket, we've got to be a lot stronger," Terone Johnson said. "We had guys driving the basketball and expecting a foul call, and we're not going to get that. Going into the rest of the games in the Big Ten, that's just something we can't expect, to get foul calls. We've just got to play stronger."