Nov. 26, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Brian Thornton scored 23 points and Stanley Burrell added 16 as Xavier beat Purdue 74-55 Saturday at the John Wooden Tradition at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Xavier (2-0) led by as many as 10 points early, but Purdue gained a 32-31 halftime edge after making 7-of-15 3-pointers. Chris Lutz of Purdue (2-1) scored 14 of his team-high 15 points in the first half, including three 3-pointers.
Matt Painter, who had won his first two games as Purdue coach, regarded Xavier as one of the top 30 teams in the nation entering the game. He was eyeing his first upset as the Boilermakers' coach before the Musketeers made a second-half run to put the game away.
With Purdue within four points, 47-43, with 10:54 left in the game, Xavier's Dedrick Finn made a 3-pointer while being fouled and then completed the four-point play to put the Musketeers up 51-43 lead. Xavier outscored Purdue 23-12 the rest of the way.
Burrell, an Indianapolis native, made 4-of-6 on 3-pointers, and the Musketeers shot 50 percent from the field while holding the Boilermakers to 35 percent shooting.
Purdue forward Carl Landry, who ranked fifth nationally with 28.5 points per game, was held to five points on 2-of-9 shooting and was plagued by foul trouble throughout. Matt Kiefer scored 12 points for Purdue before fouling out.