Michigan
Purdue
Michigan Stops Boilermakers in Battle of First-Place Teams
2/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team knocked off fellow Big Ten leader Purdue 78-67 on Wednesday (Feb. 19) at Mackey Arena. Daniel Horton (Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill HS) scored a career-high 31 points to spearhead the Michigan effort. LaVell Blanchard (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) also poured in 20 points and seven rebounds. From behind the three-point arc, Michigan shot .471 (8-17) while the Boilermakers (No. 24 AP, No. 23 ESPN/USA Today) hit just .133 (2-15). The win marks the first triumph over a ranked opponent since Feb. 14, 2001, vs. Iowa.
| | Horton had half the team's points in the first half as U-M built a a 42-29 halftime lead. |
The Wolverines got out to a hot start as Horton sank a three-pointer from the top of the key to start the game. Following a pair of Purdue free throws, U-M scored the next four points on a jumper and two free throws from Horton at 18:14. Michigan extended its lead to 14-7 with a trey from Blanchard and another two points from Horton.
Following a Purdue spurt that cut the difference to 14-11, the Wolverines went off for an 11-2 run over 5:41. Horton had six of the points during the span to give him 13 points in just over seven minutes of play. After a Purdue bucket, Blanchard knocked down a three to give U-M a 28-15 advantage at 8:10. Blanchard's basket moved him into eighth place on the U-M all-time scoring list.
Leading 30-17, Michigan then allowed the Boilermakers to battle back with nine consecutive points to cut the deficit to 30-26 with 4:52 to play in the half. However, Horton responded as he scored six of Michigan's points during an 8-0 surge. With two more baskets before the intermission, the Maize and Blue regained its largest lead of the half to hold a 42-29 lead.
Horton was the key to Michigan's success in the first frame as he scored 21 points, nine of which came from the charity stripe. Willie Deane scored 10 points for the Boilermakers. U-M out-rebounded Purdue 18-10 in the first half and Bernard Robinson Jr. (Washington D.C./New Hampton Prep, N.H) led all players with five boards. U-M shot .500 (14-28) while Purdue shot .286 (6-21) in the first half.
To start the second half, PU's Kenneth Lowe scored four straight points, but Horton answered with a runner at 18:29. Purdue and Michigan traded baskets over the next three minutes with Michigan leading 48-39 at 15:25.
Purdue trimmed U-M's lead to seven but back-to-back baskets by Blanchard and Chris Hunter (Gary, Ind./West Side HS) reasserted the Michigan lead with 12:53 to play. However, Purdue slowly chipped away at the Michigan advantage and trailed 54-50 following a 9-2 run over four minutes. Blanchard buried a three-pointer from the left corner at 7:56 to end Michigan's two-minute drought and give U-M a 57-50 advantage.
Blanchard remained hot as he hit consecutive shots, including a three-pointer at 5:41. A tip-in by Hunter and free throws by Lester Abram (Pontiac, Mich./Northern HS) then pushed the Wolverines to a 69-57 lead with four minutes to play. The Boilermakers finally hit two free throws after U-M held them scoreless for nearly three and a half minutes. Michigan hung on in the final minutes by hitting seven of its eight free throw attempts as Purdue made a final effort to get back into the game.
Michigan will have the next six days off before it plays at Wisconsin on Wednesday, Feb. 26, in a battle of the Big Ten's top two teams.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
