IU shooting struggles, team loses to rival Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE — When asked about the in-state rivalry following Tuesday’s game, Purdue guard Lewis Jackson described it as “war.”

But in IU’s 67-53 loss at Mackey Arena, it was the No. 14 Boilermakers who benefited from the extra firepower. 

Purdue guard E’Twaun Moore paced his squad with 25 points and eight rebounds, while forward JaJuan Johnson added 15 points and eight rebounds of his own to push the Boilermakers to victory.

IU coach Tom Crean said Moore and Johnson were too much to handle Tuesday. 

“We don’t have a matchup for JaJuan Johnson, not many do,” Crean said. “He made some plays that really good players like that make. We mixed guys on E’Twaun Moore. 

“We didn’t play mistake-free basketball. And when you are playing guys like that, who are so dominant on their team, you got to be as relatively mistake-free as you possibly can.”

Moore and Johnson, though, were not alone in contributions on the offensive end.  
Jackson complemented both seniors with 13 points and four rebounds. 

And while Purdue’s offense was in sync for most of the matchup — the Boilermakers shot 50 percent in the second half — the Hoosiers’ was not.

The biggest impact was felt from behind the arc, as IU shot a combined 2-for-13 from the 3-point line. It finished the game shooting 35 percent from the field as a team.

IU sophomore guard Jordan Hulls said the outcome may have been different had his team been able to score more effectively from the perimeter. 

“Any time you can hit 3-pointers, you can be in a lot of games that way,” Hulls said. “That definitely would have helped, but there were also some defensive things we need to work on that ended up costing us.”

Without sophomore forward and leading scorer Christian Watford, who was out for the third consecutive game with a broken left hand, IU needed players to step up into his role.

Freshman forward Will Sheehey did that, hitting 5-of-12 shots en route to 14 points against the Boilermakers. He was also effective driving the lane, getting to the free throw line three times (once after a made lay-up) and making each one.

Sheehey said the added time on the court has benefited both himself and freshman Victor Oladipo lately. 

“We’ve had a lot of injuries this season, and with that, it gives us more time to get in and show what we can do,” Sheehey said. “You want to have guys healthy, but when they are not, you have to come and play.” 

But even with Sheehey’s added contribution, IU could not seem to cut the gap against
Purdue.

With 14:08 remaining in the game, Oladipo’s lay-up brought the deficit to only four points. 

The Boilermakers, however, would not relinquish the lead they gained midway through the first half. 

Moore, Johnson and Lewis continued the balanced scoring in a variety of ways, as the Boilermakers never allowed IU to get within seven points in the final six and a half minutes. 

The biggest discrepancy came at the free throw line, as Purdue had 28 attempts to only seven for the Hoosiers. 

The Boilermakers’ defense also tightened up down the stretch and did not allow the Hoosiers to get any closer.

“Our guys are learning. We rebounded well and did a lot of good things,” Crean said. “We’ve made progress. But they had some big answers when they needed them, and we didn’t have enough of that.”