Xavier University
Purdue
Xavier Steam Rolls Boilermakers at The Wooden Tradition
11.26.05 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2005
Box Score (html) | Box Score (pdf)
INDIANAPOLIS - Senior forward Brian Thornton pumped in a game-high 23 points and grabbed six rebounds while Indianapolis native Stanley Burrell pumped in 16 points as the duo teamed to lead the Xavier men's basketball team to a 74-55 win over Purdue on Saturday in The Wooden Tradition at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Musketeers recorded their first-ever win in three games at Conseco Fieldhouse and move to 2-0 on the early season while the Boilermakers drop to 2-1.
Thornton's 23 points came on 7-of-10 from the field and 9-of-12 from the charity stripe. The senior has now scored 20 points in back-to-back games for just the second time in his career and the first time in his career at Xavier.
"I was really excited at the end of the game tonight, not necessarily because we won but how we did it," said head coach Sean Miller. "A year ago we found ourselves in a similar situation on many occasions and we were able to respond tonight."
The Boilermakers opened up the second half in the same fashion as they ended the first half with the first four points after intermission, but Xavier came back with a 9-0 run over 3:05 to take a 40-to-36 lead at the 14:45 mark.
Purdue would knot the game up at 42-all on a made lay-up from Carl Landry at 13:01. The Musketeers responded by going to Thornton who sank a pair of free throws at 12:52 to give Xavier a 44-42 lead. XU then ratcheted up the defense and held the Boilermakers without a field goal for the next 6:32 and stretched its lead to 61-45 at 6:40 off a pair of free throws from Justin Doellman.
Xavier held its largest lead of the game at the 1:36 mark when a made lay-up by Dedrick Finn gave the Musketeers a 21-point advantage (74-53).
XU was .500 (23-of-46) from the floor while Purdue converted on 21 of its 60 shots for a .350 clip. Xavier held a commanding advantage from the charity stripe as XU made 22-of-27 including 12-of-13 in the second half while Purdue was 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
Purdue scored the first points of the game at the 18:47 mark on a jumper by Gary Ware, but the Musketeers responded with a 15-3 run over the next 4:56 to take its largest lead of the half, 15-5, off a lay-up from Will Caudle at the 13:51 mark.
The Purdue defense limited XU to just five made baskets over the remainder of the first stanza and went on a 14-5 run over a 5:26 span including a pair of 3-point baskets from Matt Kiefer. XU scored the final points of the half off a pair of free throws from Thornton and went into the locker rooms trailing 32-31.
Purdue was led by freshman guard Chris Lutz, who scored a team-high 15 points on 4-of-6 from the field including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Xavier will return to the floor on Tuesday, Nov. 26, when the Musketeers play host to the Eagles of Coppin State University. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Cintas Center on the XU campus.
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