Jan. 28, 2010
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MADISON, Wis. -- Keaton Nankivil's game- and career-high 25 points were not enough as the No. 16 Wisconsin men's basketball team fell in a tough Big Ten Conference battle against No. 10 Purdue, 60-57, Thursday night at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
Trevon Hughes missed a contested runner in the closing seconds, allowing the Boilermakers to hold off the Badgers in a back-and-forth matchup of Big Ten contenders.
| No. 10 Purdue 60, No. 16 Wisconsin 57 | 1st | 2nd | Final |
| Wisconsin (16-5, 6-3 Big Ten) | 25 | 32 | 57 |
| Purdue (17-3, 5-3 Big Ten) | 27 | 33 | 60 |
| Statistical Leaders |
Points: Keaton Nankivil (UW) 25 | E'Twaun Moore (PUR) 20
|
| Rebounds: Keaton Nankivil (UW) 6 | Robbie Hummel (PUR) 13 |
| Assists: Jordan Taylor (UW) 5 | Robbie Hummel (PUR) 5 |
Hughes' shot came after one of Nankivil's seven treys put the Badgers up, 57-56, with 42 seconds remaining and Purdue's E'Twaun Moore answered with a score in the lane with 25.2 seconds left to give Purdue a 58-57 lead.
Wisconsin worked the clock down for a shot and senior guard Trevon Hughes missed on a pull-up jumper, but the ball bounced out of bounds off a Purdue player with 6 seconds to play.
Hughes missed a bank shot after JaJuan Johnson and Robbie Hummel rotated over, and Johnson rebounded.
Johnson was fouled with a second left and made both free throws. Kramer intercepted Wisconsin's long inbounds pass from under its basket to seal the win.
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan was fine with Hughes taking the shot, even though Nankivil shot 7-for-8 from 3-point range for the Badgers (16-5, 6-3).
"The shot I look for is the one that goes through the bottom of the net," Ryan said. "If you know your history, it's probably not a bad guy to have the ball in his hands."
Johnson scored 14 and Hummel had 12 points, 13 rebounds and five assists for the Boilermakers (17-3, 5-3), who won their third straight and moved within a half-game of Wisconsin for second place in the conference.
After trailing by two at halftime, the Badgers held Purdue scoreless for the first 5:44 of the second half to take a 34-27 lead.
The Boilermakers rallied quickly. A putback tip and a 3-pointer by reserve John Hart, then two free throws by Hummel tied the score at 38 with 11 minutes left. Moore's layup gave the lead back to Purdue and prompted Wisconsin to call timeout.
The Boilermakers pushed the lead to 56-49 before Wisconsin started chipping away. A 3-pointer by Nankivil cut it to 56-52, then a steal and layup by Taylor made it a two-point game.
Another 3 by Nankivil with 42 seconds left gave Wisconsin a 57-56 lead and set up the frantic ending.
With his clutch 7-for-8 shooting from 3-point range and 25 total points, Nankivil recorded his second career-high points total in as many games, besting the 17 he scored against Penn State on Sunday. He also grabbed a team-high six rebounds, three steals and a block to round out an impressive line.
Jordan Taylor was the only other Badger to score in double digits, tallying 13 points along with five assists and two steals.
The Badgers return home on Tuesday, Feb. 2, when they host No. 5 Michigan State in a crucial Big Ten match-up. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT at the Kohl Center.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
