University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers End Regular Season With 66-47 Loss at Purdue
3/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Carl Landry scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Purdue to a 66-47 win over Minnesota this evening at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. The Gophers wrapped up the regular season with a 9-21, 3-13 record while the Boilermakers notched an important win toward an NCAA Tournament berth and improved to 19-10, 8-7. Spencer Tollackson led the Gophers with 16 points in the loss.
Minnesota shot 41 percent from the field and owned a 34-26 advantage on the boards but from the games outset, turnovers were a thorn in Minnesota's side. The Gophers coughed the ball up a season-high 28 times including 15 in the first 15 minutes of the game. The turnovers helped Purdue build an early 13-2 lead as the Gophers did not make a basket until the 13:28 mark when Kevin Payton finally broke into the scoring column for the Gophers. Purdue took a 21-6 lead before Minnesota picked up its play. Four straight points on baskets by Tollackson and Lawrence McKenzie made the score 21-10 with 5:08 left. A Dan Coleman basket with 1:04 brought Minnesota within 11 at 31-20 but Tarrance Crump scored just before the buzzer to give Purdue a 33-20 halftime lead.
Minnesota was unable to trim the Boilermaker lead to single digits in the second half. A Coleman offensive rebound and putback pulled the Gophers within 11 at 36-25 with 17:08 but Purdue went on a 6-0 run to increase its lead to 17. A McKenzie three and two Bryce Webster free throws had the Gophers back within 12 but Purdue extended back to an 18-point lead after two Landry free throws with 7:13 to go. Purdue's largest lead of 23 came after a Chris Lutz layup with 2:34 remaining.
Coleman finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds while McKenzie added 10 points and six boards. Lutz was the only Boiler besides Landry in double figure scoring with 10 points.
The Gophers held Purdue to 43 percent shooting and forced 14 turnovers but it wasn't enough to overcome their own miscues handling the ball.
Minnesota has a bye in the final weekend of conference play. The Gophers will play Thursday at the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center in Chicago. Seeding will be announced following Saturday's conference games.
