IU freshmen foursome bite off 41 points in first taste of Purdue rivalry

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- In their first Indiana-Purdue game, the IU freshman four made it look like they'd been battling the rival Boilermakers for years.\nFreshmen D.J. White, A.J. Ratliff and James Hardy spearheaded a 14-0 second half run that helped the Hoosiers recover from a 10-point deficit on their way to a double-overtime, 75-73 win Saturday in Mackey Arena.\nThe freshmen's play also aided the Hoosiers in the overtime periods as the fourth member of the starring cast, forward Robert Vaden, joined White and Ratliff to score 12 of IU's 20 points in the overtimes. White had eight of those 12 points including IU's only three field goals in the second, decisive extra period.\n"I thought our guys showed great courage, especially our freshmen," IU coach Mike Davis said. "We played four freshmen in this game. To be in this atmosphere to play older guys is tough. But to come in here and play four freshmen and to be able to win this basketball game is really big."\nAfter all was said and done in Saturday's thriller, White finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Vaden totaled 11 points and six boards while Ratliff tallied seven points and six rebounds. Hardy came off the bench for his highest point total of the year with seven points, including his first three-pointer of the season.\nBut with Purdue leading 32-22 early in the second half, it looked as if the freshmen four would leave their first visit to Mackey Arena with an unhappy ending. That is, until IU's 14-0 run energized the Hoosiers and got things rolling.\nDuring that run, the freshman four scored 10 of the 14 points, including Ratliff's block of Purdue's Xavier Price and following breakaway dunk that gave IU its first lead, 34-32, since a 1-0 early advantage.\nAnd while the freshmen contributed to the run and the Hoosier win, Davis said the team's youth helped Purdue gain the lead.\n"When you're young, you have the results in the first half and in the first part of the second half," Davis said.\nWith 0.9 seconds on the clock in the first overtime and IU leading 63-61, a member of the freshmen four took center stage again.\nRatliff fouled Purdue's Carl Landry after Landry caught a length of the floor pass, scored and was fouled with a made free throw surely clinching the win for the Boilers.\nOne of the members of the cast had almost turned the game from triumph to a tragedy for the Hoosiers.\nRatliff smilingly said he was nowhere near Landry to foul him.\n"They said the foul was on 20 and I said 'no way, I wasn't even there,'" Ratliff said.\nRegardless, the controversial Landry basket counted, but fortunately for the Hoosiers his free throw didn't, as his miss kept IU alive and the thriller rolled on.\nAs the scene changed to the second overtime, White stepped into the starring role with his six points propelling the Hoosiers to their first Big Ten road win. The Purdue fans left Mackey Arena silent, with Hoosier fans giving their team a standing ovation for a solid production.\nDavis said IU was trying to get the ball into White's hands earlier in the game, but tough defense from a foul-plagued Landry kept White at bay.\n"But I felt like once we got the ball into D.J.'s hands, he can make plays," Davis said. "And he made big plays for us."\nThe freshmen four were outscored by their elder statesmen, junior guard Bracey Wright. Wright tallied a game-high 23 points, but Wright said he didn't have to say anything to the freshmen during the ups and downs of the wild second half.\nThe freshmen four didn't get stage fright.\n"They knew everything we had to do," Wright said. "This is a game where they really grew up. D.J. really stepped up in the second half. Everybody stepped up together. It was a collective effort, and that's what we needed."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John \nRodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.