Michigan knocks off Purdue
1/21/2007ANN ARBOR - Purdue was finished once Dion Harris and Michigan learned to finish.
Harris scored 21 points yesterday and the Wolverines shook off a sloppy first half to avenge their only Big Ten loss with a 71-55 victory over the Boilermakers.
The win, Michigan's third straight at home, moved the Wolverines into a second-place tie with Indiana in the conference standings.
Michigan had an almost six-minute scoring drought in the first half, but Harris made consecutive 3-pointers during a 13-2 run early in the second that gave the Wolverines (16-4, 4-1 Big Ten) control of the game. He was 5-for-7 from behind the arc to move into second place on the school's all-time 3-pointers list and had five assists.
"We didn't finish when we had opportunities in the first half," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "We got to the line but didn't make free throws and we struggled from the floor.
"We just talked about coming out in the second half and finishing."
After going 9-for-25 from the floor in the first half, Michigan went 11-for-13 in the first 10 minutes of the second. The Boilermakers, who defeated Michigan 67-53 on Jan. 13, had just four field goals during the same stretch.
"We just wanted to come out and attack," Harris said. "It really helped that we got out to that kind of start because it seemed like every part of the game got better for us."
Carl Landry and David Teague each had 15 points for the Boilermakers, who have lost all five of their road games this season and extended a streak of defeats on opponents' home courts to 29 games. Purdue (13-7, 2-4) last won a true road contest Feb. 21, 2004.
The Boilermakers finished 19-for-57 from the floor (33 percent).
The Wolverines jumped out to an early 10-2 lead but went more than five minutes without scoring midway through the first half. Purdue outscored them 13-0 during the stretch. Ekpe Udoh hit a jumper late in the period to give Michigan a 25-23 lead at intermission.
Lester Abram had 12 points for the Wolverines, who also got a career-high 11 points and seven assists from Jerret Smith. Brent Petway added 10 points and five blocks.