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Purdue 84, Illinois 75
Posted: Thursday January 10, 2002 12:25 AM
Illinois
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Purdue
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (Ticker) -- Losing has become rare for 10th-ranked Illinois but consecutive losses under Bill Self had never happened until now.

Rodney Smith scored 17 points as Purdue pulled away in the second half for an 84-75 upset over the Fighting Illini in a Big Ten Conference matchup.

Illinois (12-4, 1-2 Big Ten) fell to 39-12 under Self, who finished 27-8 last season in his first year in Champaign. That total was the second-most in school history.

Self suffered consecutive defeats for the first time since February 4-6, 1999 with Tulsa.

"I thought Purdue played very well," Self said. "They made shots and just picked us apart. They played well and definitely outplayed us.

"I know this, we are not very good right now. It's one thing to win at home, but to step into someone else's building, you have to do certain things to win on the road." The Boilermakers (9-8, 1-2) trailed, 41-40 at halftime but their shooting heated up over the final 20 minutes. Purdue shot 56 percent in the second half and limited the Fighting Illini to just 32 percent after halftime.

Purdue took control of the contest with an 15-5 run that extended its lead to 66-53. Darmetreis Kilgore's 3-pointer with 8:15 left capped the burst.

Boilermakers coach Gene Keady indicated that his team had been impatient offensively. Against Illnois, they used as much of the shot clock as possible before finding a good shot.

"As a team, we played with more energy tonight," Smith said. "Defensively, we started to not worry about individual things. We focused on playing great defense and not forcing things on offense." "I didn't know we would have another win this year, the way we have been playing lethargic," Keady said. "Our new players are learning that. It's just a matter of executing and playing within. This is a big win for our players and hopefully for their confidence." Frank Williams paced Illinois with 23 points on 8-of-18 shooting and Cory Bradford added 13. But the Fighting Illini were in foul trouble throughout and saw starters Robert Archibald and Sean Harrington each foul out.

Purdue made 35-of-46 attempts at the foul line, including all nine by Austin Parkinson. The Boilermakers placed six players in double figures with Parkinson finishing with 13 and Wille Deane adding 12.

"The win gives us confidence," Purdue guard Joe Marshall said. "We beat a good and highly ranked team, but we have not done anything yet." Williams made consecutive 3-pointers to reduce the deficit to 80-73 with 1:07 left. But the Boilermakers made four free throws in the final minute to avoid their first 0-3 conference start since 1962-63.

 


 
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