Recap: Purdue vs. Texas A&M
Sports Network | March 21, 2010
Spokane, WA (Sports Network) - Chris Kramer's layup with 4.2 seconds remaining in overtime lifted the Purdue Boilermakers to a 63-61 win over Texas A&M in the second round of the South Region.
Kramer finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, with his final attempt sending fourth-seeded Purdue (29-5) to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. He also grabbed seven rebounds and recorded three steals.
E'Twaun Moore totaled 15 points, six boards and three steals for the Boilermakers, who also received 11 points and three blocks from JaJuan Johnson.
"I thought we had a big time effort today, especially in the second half," said Purdue head coach Matt Painter. "In the overtime I thought our guys really just hung in there and kept fighting and did some really good things on the defensive end. I thought offensively we had some struggles, had some guys go in spurts where they were pretty good. But it was just a great team effort."
Purdue will next face top-seeded Duke.
Bryan Davis posted a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds to pace the fifth-seeded Aggies (24-10), who lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year.
The teams traded buckets throughout overtime, and a Moore jumper tied the game at 61 with about a minute to play. Donald Sloan and Davis both had looks at the other end for Texas A&M, but couldn't convert as Moore gathered the defensive rebound.
Coming out of a timeout, Kramer made a nifty drive to the hoop and hit the go- ahead shot. The Aggies had one last chance, but B.J. Holmes' three-point bid caught the front end of the rim.
"All losses hurt, some sting more than others. Obviously, this one really stings. In the end, (Purdue) was able to make one more play than us," said Texas A&M head coach Mark Turgeon.
Texas A&M raced out to a 17-9 lead, but the Boilermakers narrowed the deficit to two at 24-22 on a Moore jumper with just under four minutes left in the opening half.
The Aggies led 32-25 at halftime, and the advantage swelled to 40-29 on six straight points inside the first four minutes of the second half.
Kramer made two free throws to ignite a 17-2 run for Purdue, which took a 46-42 lead when D.J. Byrd knocked down a trey. Texas A&M scored the next eight points before a Keaton Grant dunk gave the Boilermakers a 55-50 lead with about 4 1/2 minutes to play.
Texas A&M netted the last five points of regulation to force overtime.
Byrd had 10 points...Sloan logged 11 and four assists...Texas A&M outrebounded Purdue 45-39 and held a 14-5 advantage on the offensive glass...The Boilermakers shot 41.3 percent from the field, while Texas A&M made 35.4 percent of its shots.
