All alone on top of Big Ten

Roderick Wilmont had just messed up, and he knew it. He had just hit a three-pointer to put the Hoosiers up four points with less than a minute to play, but the freshman guard left Purdue guard David Teague wide open in the corner for a three to allow the Boilermakers to get back within one.\nBut Wilmont atoned for his error when he nailed another three with 28.1 seconds left to seal the win, 63-58, Tuesday in front of sellout crowd in Assembly Hall.\n"Bracey (Wright) had some good drives, and I was just wide open, and I just knocked them down just like in practice," Wilmont said. "At the end, everybody thought we were going to go to Bracey so everybody was just keying on that. Everybody collapsed on Bracey, and I was wide open in the corner and just knocked down some big shots."\nIU coach Mike Davis was mad at Wilmont for leaving Teague open for the shot. It had been something Davis had stressed in practice, and Wilmont said he was caught in the moment when he collapsed in the lane.\n"I told him, 'You owe me one,'" Davis said. "You say that not thinking he'd ever make one. But hopefully he'll make one to give him some confidence. Boy, he stepped up and made a big shot."\nThose two three-pointers were Wilmont's only six points of the game. Eight players scored for IU (11-6, 5-1 Big Ten) with senior forward A.J. Moye leading the way with 15 points.\nThe Purdue defenders held Wright in check most of the game, as he scored only 10 points. But his two assists on Wilmont's threes and his big block in the closing seconds made up for his poor shooting performance. Wright said he wasn't afraid to pass the ball to Wilmont because he has seen him knock down those shots before.\n"For me, I enjoy that better than scoring because it shows that I can do more than just score," Wright said. "To get a block at the end of the game and to get an assist to a teammate, and he knocked down a big shot, it's good for me."\nPurdue (14-5, 4-2) battled back after being down by as many as 13 in the first half. The Boilermakers' largest lead was two points at the 11:23 mark of the second half. But for the next 10 minutes, neither team was able to take more than a one-point lead.\nThe Boilermakers suffered a blow when senior guard Kenneth Lowe drove to the basket and hit the ground hard. He hurt his left elbow and did not return to the game. Lowe is Purdue's leading scorer and finished the game with 13 points despite missing the final 15 minutes.\n"It killed them," Davis said. "He was playing well. If he's not first team All-Big Ten, there's something wrong with our league."\nDavis said that early in the season, the team would stand around and watch Wright, which resulted in Wright taking many shots. Now, more players are hitting their shots, which has given Wright confidence in them.\n"Bracey didn't trust his teammates," Davis said. "Nobody was stepping up…For Bracey to pass the ball twice to Roderick shows that he trusts his teammates now."\nPurdue coach Gene Keady was pleased with the effort his team displayed after losing Lowe. He said the team played better defense in the second half, which allowed them to get back in the game.\n"I think we did a good job on Wright until the last few of minutes of the second half when he got some key baskets," Keady said. "Of course those two back breakers that Wilmont shot. We're trying to sag off and keep from letting them drive in and get fouled or shoot a shot that would be a good percentage shot. But he knocked it down. He made the play so that was good on his part."\nIU now has won five-straight games and is currently in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. Wilmont said it's quite a turnaround following the loss at Wisconsin.\n"It feels good," Wilmont said. "I can't even explain how we feel right now…Coach has a lot more faith in us now that he didn't in the beginning. We're just gelling. Coach is sticking with us, and we're just coming as a team right now."\n-- Contact staff writer Tyler V. Hoeppner at thorppne@indiana.edu.