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Purdue avoids third-straight loss, gets revenge on Indiana in rivalry thriller

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

It came down to the wire again.

The first meeting between Purdue and Indiana came down to the final seconds and so did Saturday’s season finale in West Lafayette. But the Boilermakers did just enough down the stretch on Senior Day to escape the upset, a third-straight loss and post a 69-67 win.

Four Boilermakers reached double figures, led by Eric Hunter Jr., who scored 17 points in the victory. Zach Edey recorded a double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Sasha Stefanovic added 15 points and Jaden Ivey scored 10.

Purdue jumped out to a 13-point lead in the first half, taking a 31-18 advantage with 4:11 to play. Indiana made a surge late, though, scoring the final 9 points to close the gap to 33-29 at the break. Guard Xavier Johnson was a huge part of that run.

The Boilermakers again took a big lead in the second half, going up 42-33 in the first 4 minutes out of the locker room. The Hoosiers were able to take a lead with 10:38 to play on a Xavier Johnson jumper at 49-48.

The two rivals traded punches the rest of the way.

Indiana took a 56-52 lead at the 6:56 mark, but a 7-0 run from Purdue put the Boilers back in front and they never looked back. The Hoosiers had a chance to win the game on the final possession, but Johnson missed a long 3-point attempt to end the game.

Johnson ended with a game-high 18 point in the loss. Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 15 and Miller Kopp added 14. Race Thompson added a 10 rebounds to lead the team.

Purdue closes out the regular season with a 25-6 record, with all 6 losses coming in B1G play. They will have a double-bye in the conference tournament.

Indiana ends the year 18-12 and needs a few wins in the B1G Tournament to solidify a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB