Northwestern finally found some relief in the Big Ten with a 72-64 victory against No. 6 Purdue on Saturday to prompt fans to storm the Welsh-Ryan Arena court.
It was first victory in four tries that the Wildcats beat a ranked opponent at home this season.
They did it with same late game heroics by Drew Crawford.
With a one-point lead and about two minutes remaining, Crawford hit a three-pointer and on his next trip down the court came up with a three-point play by drawing a foul to provide Northwestern with a 64-57 lead. He was playing with four fouls at the time.
Michael “Juice” Thompson led Northwestern with 20 points.
After winning 14 games in a row, Purdue is trying to figure out how they got off track with three straight losses.
Northwestern led by as many as eight points, but most of the second half became a one-possession battle between Purdue and Northwestern.
Purdue had to contend with center JaJuan Johnson’s and guard E’Twaun Moore’s foul trouble; Johnson picked up three before halftime and fouled out with less than four minute to play. Moore fouled out with about a minute remaining.
Photo: s Michael Thompson brings the ball up the court in celebration. (Chris Sweda / Tribune)
Read the original article on WGN Chicago.