National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Purdue 81, Western Illinois 67
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Where: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana
Officials: # Terry Oglesby, # Ron Tyburski, # Todd Williams
Attendance: 3046


Purdue 81, Western Illinois 67: Freshman forward A.J. Hammons led four double-digit scorers with 15 pointsas the host Boilermakers pulled away from the Leathernecks to advance to Monday's College Basketball Invitational quarterfinals against Santa Clara.

Purdue (16-17) was also helped by freshmen guards Ronnie Johnson, who scored 14, and Rapheal Davis, who added 12. Junior guard Terone Johnson (10 points) and senior forward D.J. Byrd, who shot 3-for-5 from deep, combined for 19 points.

Senior forward Don McAvoy III scored 16 points to lead Western Illinois (22-9), which lost consecutive games for just the second time this season. Sophomore guard Remy Roberts-Burnett had 15 points, and junior center Michael Ochereobia and junior forward Adam Link each chipped in 12.

The Leathernecks led for a majority of the first half, but Ronnie Johnson's layup five minutes before the break gave the Boilermakers the lead for the duration. Purdue's lead grew to double figures when Byrd hit a 3-pointer to make it 54-42 with 12:33 to go.

The Boilermakers shot 58.5 percent, including 7-of-11 shooting from 3-point range.

GAME NOTEBOOK: This was Purdue's first College Basketball Invitational game. … Boilermaker coach Matt Painter is tied with Ray Eddy for third place on the program's all-time wins list with 176. … Purdue improved to 13-0 all-time against Summit League teams, including five wins over Western Illinois.

Top Game Performances
 
Western Illinois   Purdue
Don McAvoy III 16 Scoring A.J. Hammons 15
Adam Link 5 Assists Terone Johnson 5
Adam Link 5 Rebounds Dru Anthrop 6
Don McAvoy III 4 Free Throws Made Sandi Marcius 4
Adam Link 2 Steals Dru Anthrop 3
N/A Blocks A.J. Hammons 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Western Illinois 67 50.0 7-15 8-12 15 18 0 8 10
Purdue 81 58.5 7-11 12-13 19 25 3 7 12