Foul trouble leads to loss
against IU
By Paul Trembacki
Sports
Editor
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Wins in Assembly Hall
are hard to come by. Especially when you shoot 36.4 percent. Especially
when two of your top three scorers are in foul trouble throughout the
game. And especially when the only senior on the floor has one of the
worst games of his career.
Purdue found that out the hard way Tuesday night,
falling 66-55 to Indiana.
"We exemplified about as poor basketball as you
can play and still be in the game," said Purdue coach Gene Keady. "At
halftime, (down just 30-23) I was encouraged that we could play that
stinkin' and still be in the game."
The Boilers (12-6, 4-3 Big Ten) got to within three
points, at 38-35, with 12:51 to play.
But from there, Kenneth Lowe and John Allison,
who are Purdue's second- and third-leading scorers, got foul happy and
cost the Boilers dearly.
With Allison and Lowe out after picking up their
fourth fouls, the Hoosiers (12-8, 3-3) extended their 38-35 lead to
a 49-38 advantage.
Purdue never got closer than five and had to play
without Allison for the final 8:16 after the 6-foot-10 junior center
fouled out. Allison played only 24 minutes and had nine points, five
rebounds and three blocks.
Lowe scored a team-high 11 points but played only
21 minutes, which left Purdue assistant coach Cuonzo Martin wondering
what could have been.
"When you talk about Kenneth Lowe, you're talking
about a guy who can score and play solid defense — that's two dimensions
you're missing," Martin said. "With John Allison you're talking about
our leading rebounder and shot blocker.
"When you lose those two guys it hurts."
Guard Joe Marshall said the Boilers would have
been a much more cohesive unit had Lowe and Allison played more.
Marshall, who started for the second consecutive
game and managed just two points in 18 minutes, thinks he too could
have done better.
"I'm supposed to be a leader and if I'm not filling
the leadership shoes, that's no good," Marshall said. "If we're in a
situation like tonight I usually step up, but after the game I told
my teammates how sorry I was for my performance.
"I feel that if I was playing to my capability
we would've had a chance to win here."
The list of players not playing to their capability
goes on.
Carson Cunningham, the only senior on the team,
did not play well in his final game in Assembly Hall. The point guard
went scoreless and missed on all six of his off-balance field goal attempts,
including three from 3-point range.
With Cunningham off his game and Allison sitting
out, Rodney Smith became the team's only option. But the junior forward
who leads Purdue in scoring this season had just four points before
the game was out of reach.
"We should have been more focused on the offensive
end," said Smith, who had nine points and six boards in 35 minutes.
Martin said Indiana did a great job scouting Smith.
"They knew Rodney was our top gun and their focal
point was stopping Rodney," Martin said.
Kirk Haston, whom Smith defended, led all scorers
with 24 points and 15 rebounds. IU freshman Jared Jeffries was second
on the team with 14 points but his biggest contribution came in slowing
Smith.
"He showed poise on both ends of the court and
showed why he was one of the top high school players in the nation last
year," Martin said of the 6-foot-9 Bloomington South graduate.
Indiana coach Mike Davis was proud of the effort.
"Other teams have power forwards that they put
on Smith and it's impossible to stop him," Davis said. "We have guys
who are 6-9 and quick who can guard guys on the inside and on the perimeter."
Denied shots in the paint, Smith and his teammates
had quick triggers with their jump shots. But rarely did they make good
on their attempts from outside the paint.
Quick shooting and slow starts have troubled the
Boilers all season. Tuesday night was no different. Purdue trailed 9-2
to start the game before tying it at 13 and taking its last lead at
19-17. After Purdue made the score 30-25 at the onset of the second
half, the Hoosiers ran off eight consecutive points to take a 38-25
lead.
Purdue was 1 for 7 during the 8-0 IU run, but that
wasn't the only shooting funk.
Purdue also missed its final five shots of the
first half and had a 1-for-12 drought later on.
"We didn't play basketball like we would have to
to win in Bloomington," Keady said. "We have to execute and get better."
Keady said February is fast approaching and he's
getting tired of recurring problems.
Just like questions about the absence of Bob Knight,
the legendary coach who was absent from the sidelines of a Purdue-IU
game for the first time since 1972.
"I miss him just because he was Bob Knight," Keady
said. "I hope this, like the Ray Lewis thing, will end."
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