Michigan State University
Purdue
Spartans Down Boilermakers, 62-55
2/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Final Stats?|? Quotes?|? Notes
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - When Michigan State and Purdue were doing anything but shooting free throws, they played a game perhaps only a Greco-Roman wrestling fan would love.
Paul Davis scored 21 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and Michigan State almost didn't miss at the free throw line in a 62-55 win over Purdue on Tuesday night.
The Spartans made 24 of 26 free throws -- missing only one in each half -- and connected on 10 straight during the final 3:33. Purdue was 19-of-23 at the line.
That rest wasn't pretty.
Michigan State shot 40.9 percent and limited Purdue to 34 percent shooting. The teams combined for 30 turnovers and 48 fouls and made just four of 32 3-point attempts.
"It was an ugly win," Davis said. "But either team would've been happy to win it."
Michigan State (14-9, 9-3 Big Ten) moved into a first-place tie with the Wisconsin Badgers with its ninth victory in 11 games.
The Spartans play three of their last five at home -- where they are 44-2 in the Big Ten since 1998-99 -- and end the regular season hosting Wisconsin.
The only player on Michigan State's team with a Big Ten championship ring is fifth-year senior Jason Andreas, and his teammates all want one.
"Each game we get closer and closer," Davis said. "We don't need any help -- if we win the rest of our games."
Brandon McKnight scored 16 and Brett Buscher had 11 for the Boilermakers (16-9, 6-6).
Purdue's top two scorers -- Kenneth Lowe and David Teague -- struggled. They both made only one-of-eight shots and combined for just seven points, nearly 19 below their average.
Since rallying to beat Michigan State in overtime on Jan. 25, the Boilermakers have lost five of seven and their coach said he's frustrated.
"People have got to figure out how to win," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "You've got five seniors, you should be winning. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot by getting in foul trouble."
Lowe, Teague and Ivan Kartelo played no more than eight minutes in the first half because they each had two fouls. Kartelo and Matt Kiefer both had four fouls midway through the second half.
But each time the Spartans tried to pull away, Purdue wouldn't let them.
Michigan State went ahead 52-42 with 4:55 left, but the Boilermakers cut their deficit to three a minute later.
After Kelvin Torbert, who scored 16, made two free throws to give the Spartans a five-point lead, McKnight's two free throws pulled Purdue within three with 23.1 seconds left.
Davis, who was 11-of-11 at the line, made two free throws with 2.9 seconds left. Lowe missed a 3-pointer and Buscher could not convert a putback just before the buzzer.
"I think we took 'find a way to win' to a whole new level," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "It was a typical Michigan State-Purdue basketball game -- a fist fight right to the end."
Both teams may not have been pleased that a national television audience watched the game, especially in the first half.
"I'll admit, sometimes I was thinking that," Andreas said.
It took 5:19 for Michigan State to make a basket. Purdue needed almost four minutes to connect on a field goal.
And it didn't get much better after the sluggish start.
The Spartans had almost as many turnovers (nine) and fouls (eight) as points, but only trailed 16-12 because Purdue was 5-of-16 with nine fouls and six turnovers.
Michigan State led 28-23 at halftime.
"As ugly as the game was, we just kept focusing on winning," Andreas said. "When you're contending for a Big Ten title this late in the year, you don't really care how it looks when you win."
That's what Keady tried to stress to his team.
"I told our kids after the game, 'You've got to learn how to win,"' he said. "You've got to be sharp mentally, make shots, make sure you don't foul, block out and do all the little things."
