Midwest Regional at South Bend, Ind. : No. 3 Purdue Clears Old Stumbling Block

In 20 minutes, the Purdue Boilermakers put five years of NCAA tournament frustration behind them.

The third-ranked Boilermakers scored 62 points in the second half Saturday and overwhelmed Memphis State, 100-73, in the second round of the NCAA Midwest Regional.

“This is a new feeling for us,” said Coach Gene Keady, whose team lost before reaching the regional semifinals the past five seasons.

“We get to practice some more. We’re very happy about the way we have taken another step up the mountain.”

Purdue (29-3) will play Kansas State (24-8) in the Midwest semifinals Friday at Pontiac, Mich.

It was Memphis State’s worst NCAA tournament loss.

“When you get over the hump, you’ve got to keep going,” Purdue’s Troy Lewis said. “We’ve got to let this momentum carry over at Pontiac.”

Memphis State (22-10) was within 38-35 on a steal and layup by sophomore star Elliott Perry in the early moments of the second half when the Boilermakers blew them away, starting with an 11-0 spurt.

“We always try to dominate the first five minutes of both halves,” Keady said. “That’s part of our game plan.”

Todd Mitchell, held to one point in the first half, led Purdue’s second-half burst by scoring 14 points. Lewis finished with 22 points and Melvin McCants added 20 for the Boilermakers.

“I wasn’t shooting the ball well in the first half but I didn’t let it bother me,” Mitchell said.

Everette Stephens made two baskets to start the Boilermakers’ run at the outset of the second half, and the Wildcats could get no closer than eight points after that.

Purdue made 69% of its shots in the second half after making just 39% before intermission.

“I think they’ve got an excellent shot of winning the whole thing,” Memphis State Coach Larry Finch said. “If they play like today, I’m sure of it.

“We caught them sleeping (on Perry’s layup) and then we fell apart. I am very disappointed in the loss, but I am not disappointed with these guys, because there was no reason for us to be here.”

In December, Finch lost his leading scorer and his leading rebounder, both declared ineligible for improper contact with sports agents.

Perry, who averages 16.3 points a game, had only 4 points.

Dwight Boyd scored 18 points for Memphis State and John McLaughlin had 14.

Kansas State 66, DePaul 58--With the Blue Demons sagging on Mitch Richmond, the Wildcats rode to victory on the outside shooting of William Scott.

Scott made 7 of 8 shots from three-point range and scored 23 points, while Richmond still got 19 on the inside for Kansas State (24-8).

“My teammates did a good job of drawing the defense in and kicking it out to me on the wings,” Scott said. “After I hit a couple, my confidence really shot up.

“I practice the three-pointers a lot. It’s my game shot. I was getting the ball at the three-point line.”

DePaul (22-8) made only 37% of its shots and was held to its lowest point total of the season while making its quickest exit from the tournament in three years.

“Our game plan was to run, but we got lulled into a halfcourt game,” DePaul Coach Joey Meyer said. “They got the tempo going their way.

“I thought Scott was the difference. If he missed a three-pointer, I don’t remember it. Still, we were in the game until the end. It just seemed like every time we went after a loose ball or something it bounced back into Kansas State’s hands.”

Scott buried two straight three-pointers to start the second half and give Kansas State a 36-29 lead.

That started an 11-3 run for Kansas State that Scott capped with a three-pointer to make it 41-32.

When DePaul got within 52-51, Richmond made a three-point play to give the Wildcats some breathing room. After Rod Strickland scored two points for the Blue Demons, Richmond countered with another basket to make it 57-53 with 5:27 left.

Strickland made one of two free throws with 1:37 left to get DePaul within 59-56, but Steve Henson made two free throws, Scott made two more and Richmond made three to finish off the Blue Demons.

“We were fortunate to have DePaul have an off-shooting night,” Kansas State Coach Lon Kruger said. “We just felt that playing a zone would be better against a quick team like DePaul than man-to-man.”

Strickland scored 19 points for DePaul. Kevin Edwards, averaging 18 points a game, was held to 6 points.

“My wrist bothered me early in the game but I guess I just had an off night,” Edwards said.