No. 16 Purdue rallies past Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis.-This was the same tired, old tune Wisconsin has played for the past two weeks.The Badgers led 16th-ranked Purdue by four points with a little more than 2 minutes left but allowed two back-breaking three-pointers down the stretch that helped the Boilermakers fight back and score a 64-63 victory in front of a packed house at the Kohl Center.


The loss was Wisconsin's fifth in a row and wasted a marvelous night by Keaton Nankivil, who scored a collegiate-high 21 points on 6-for-8 shooting. The Badgers also got 15 points and five assists from Trevon Hughes.


Wisconsin allowed the Boilermakers to score on five of their final six possessions, hit 59.5 percent of their shots overall_the most for a Badgers opponent this season_and shoot 65.2 percent in the first half.


It wasn't much easier on offense for the Badgers. They went without a basket for 7 minutes in the first half and went scoreless for a 5-minute stretch in the second against the nation's top-ranked field-goal percentage defense.


Add it up and you've got another hard-to-swallow loss.


"It's frustrating because we're always there and we just end up on the left-hand side," Hughes said.


The Badgers, who led by 56-51 with 4 minutes 46 seconds to play, scored just two baskets in the final 4 minutes.


Purdue, on the other hand, scored eight straight points after Wisconsin led, 58-54. Junior Chris Kramer and sophomore Robbie Hummel hit threes and junior Keaton Grant hit two free throws to put Wisconsin behind the 8-ball again.


Sophomore E'Twaun Moore led the Boilermakers with 17 points and six assists. Grant finished with 10 points for Purdue, which improved to 16-4 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten.


"I think we have some competitive guys that want to win, but a lot of people have guys that want to win," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "I think that there is a fine line, especially in tonight's game where our guys made a couple more plays down the stretch."


The Boilermakers' top guns carried the scoring load or came through in the clutch but Wisconsin (12-8, 3-5) wasn't as fortunate. Marcus Landry scored nine points and had a collegiate-high four steals, but missed six of 10 shots and struggled to finish against Purdue's length inside. Jason Bohannon shot 1 for 5 and scored three points.


Nankivil offset their struggles by going 5 for 5 from three-point range.


His second three capped a 14-4 run that allowed the Badgers to fight back from a nine-point, first-half deficit and take a 39-38 lead with 16{ minutes to play. His three from the top of the key with 11{ minutes to play snapped a 5-minute scoreless streak.


His last three gave UW a 56-51 lead with 4:46 to play. However, Grant's three with 3 minutes 1 second left started the comeback. Kramer hit a three to make it a 58-57 game with less than 2 minutes to play. Hummel's three gave his team a 60-58 lead with 61 seconds left.


UW never regained the lead. The team's last gasp, a left-handed drive by Jordan Taylor with 6 seconds left, rolled around the rim and out.


Another missed opportunity inside. Another narrow defeat.


"You have to finish 8 feet and in," UW coach Bo Ryan said. "I've listened to a lot of other coaches when they say that and it's true. You have to finish when you get the ball in the paint. We didn't finish enough."

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(c) 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.