Moore leads No. 11 Purdue past No. 2 Ohio State

[February 21, 2011]  WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- E'Twaun Moore scored a career-high 38 points to lead No. 11 Purdue past No. 2 Ohio State 76-63 on Sunday, capping a week that saw the top four teams in the AP Top 25 lose a game.

Moore tied a career high with seven 3-pointers. He surpassed 2,000 points during a flurry of 13 in the final 3:49 of the first half, becoming the fifth player in school history to reach the milestone.

JaJuan Johnson added 13 points and six rebounds for Purdue (22-5, 11-3 Big Ten), which avenged an 87-64 loss at Ohio State on Jan. 25.

Jared Sullinger scored 25 points and Jon Diebler added 11 for the Buckeyes (25-2, 12-2), who have lost two of three after winning their first 24 games.

With losses in the past week by No. 1 Kansas, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Pittsburgh, the Buckeyes entered the game in line to reclaim the No. 1 ranking they dropped after losing at Wisconsin on Feb. 12.

Instead, Ohio State now finds itself in a dogfight for the conference title. The Buckeyes, who could have all but sealed the championship with a win, now have a one-game lead with four to play.

Purdue shot 51 percent overall after hitting just 38 percent in the first matchup. The Boilermakers held the Buckeyes to 6-for-22 shooting in the second half.

Diebler entered the game one 3-pointer short of the Big Ten career record of 331 set by Penn State's Pete Lisicky from 1994-1998. Diebler tied the record on a fadeaway as the shot clock expired that gave Ohio State an 11-5 lead, and broke it on a shot from the right corner 1 minute into the second half.

Ohio State led 28-24 in the first half before Moore took over. He hit a 3-pointer, then scored on an acrobatic fastbreak layup to give Purdue the lead. He followed that with two more 3s to give the Boilermakers a 35-30 lead.

David Lighty's 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in the first half cut the lead to two, but Moore drained a jumper over Lighty in the closing seconds of the half to push Purdue's lead to 37-33. The Boilermakers forced nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

Moore found a streaking Terone Johnson with a behind-the-back pass, and Johnson's layup gave Purdue a 48-42 lead. Moore then made a long jumper to push the lead to 10 for the first time.

Ohio State hung around while Purdue took questionable shots. Sullinger drove for a powerful two-handed dunk and was fouled. His free throw cut Purdue's lead to 56-51.

Moore hit a fadeaway, then his sixth 3-pointer, to increase Purdue's lead to 61-53.

[Associated Press; By CLIFF BRUNT]

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