11/22/05– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PURDUE SHOOTS PAST JAGUARS IN SECOND HALF FOR 85-67 VICTORY
CONTACT: Kit Strief

Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue senior forward Carl Landry scored a career-high 35 points to help the Boilermakers beat the Jaguars 85-67 Tuesday night. Jaguar senior forward Richard Law scored a team-high 14 points and junior guard Carlos Smith chipped in 12.

The game began as a nip-and-tuck affair as neither team built more than a three point lead through the first nine minutes of the contest. USA had three leads during that span before Purdue went on a 10-0 run to take a 21-10 lead with 9:13 remaining in the half. Jaguar junior forward Leandro Buboltz ended the run with a basket at the 8:33 mark.

A pair of 3-pointers by Nate Minnoy and Chris Lutz helped the Boilermakers push the lead up to 17 with 6:34 to play. The Jaguar team did not panic as they continued to fight hard and clawed their way back into the game, going on a 19-8 run to close the half, bringing the deficit to one point. With under 10 seconds left in the half, Smith dribbled to the left side and fired an NBA range 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded making the score 37-36 at half.

USA shot 46 percent from the floor in the opening half on 15-of-32. Purdue countered with an even 50 percent on 13-of-26. The Jaguars were six-of-10 from beyond the arc and did not attempt a free throw. Purdue was five-of-10 from beyond the arc and six-of-seven from the line. The Jaguars held a 15-14 lead in rebounds and each team had nine turnovers.

Landry led all scores with 12 at half, while Law and Smith had 11 and 10, respectively.

Purdue opened the second half increasing the lead to 43-39, but a pair of threes by Law and senior guard Mario Jointer tied the game at 45-45 with 17:12 to play. Purdue built the lead back up to eight 58-50 at the 11:34 mark on a field goal by Minnoy.

After the 12-minute media timeout, the Boilermakers continued to increase the lead up to 17 with 6:08 to play. USA continued to fight hard and looked as if it was going to get back in the game as the deficit was down to 12 courtesy of the old-fashion three-point play as senior Michael Phillips was fouled in the act of shooting under the basket.

Purdue again had the answer and finished the game with an 18-point margin, 85-67.

For the game, the Jaguars shot 45.5 percent from the field (25-of-55), nine-of-23 from beyond the arc and eight-of-12 from the line. Purdue shot a blazing 58 percent from the floor (29-of-50), six-of-15 from beyond the arc and 21-of-25 from the free throw line. Landry’s 35 points came on 10-of-13 shooting from the floor and 15-of-17 from the line.

Law continued his hot start as he led the Jaguars with 14 points on five-of-eight from the floor, including four-of-six from 3-point range. Smith was five-of-eight from the field and two-of-four from beyond the arc for 12 points. Phillips chipped in nine points and senior Chey Christie added eight.

The Jaguars return home to face Alabama State on Friday, Nov. 25 at 7:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center. USA will then travel to Los Angeles for a game with Loyola Marymount after on Monday, Nov. 28 at 9:05 p.m. Central time.