Dec. 16, 2006
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- A.J. Graves, who had blurred vision after being poked in the eye in Butler's last game, scored 25 points Saturday and the 18th-ranked Bulldogs took the lead in the final minute for a 68-65 victory over Purdue.
Brandon Crone's driving layup and free throw gave Butler (11-1) a 66-64 lead with 59 seconds left. Mike Green of the Bulldogs hit two free throws around one by Purdue in the final 27 seconds, and a desperation 3-pointer by Purdue's Tarrance Crump was off the mark just ahead of the buzzer.
Graves was limited to 14 points because of the eye injury in Butler's first loss of the season a week earlier at Indiana State. But he hit four 3-pointers and finished 8-of-14 overall against the Boilermakers (8-2).
Green added 18 points for the Bulldogs.
Purdue, trying for its seventh straight victory, got career highs of 20 points from Gordon Watt and 12 points from freshman Chris Kramer. Leading scorer Carl Landry also had 12 points, eight on free throws.
Purdue's last lead was 64-63 on a dunk by Landry. Crone, who missed his first nine shots and was just 2-of-13 for the game, then drove to the basket, was fouled and hit the free throw to give the Bulldogs the lead for good.