Purdue edged by 7th-ranked Michigan

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - A strong effort by Purdue was offset by a second-half rally by seventh-ranked Michigan as the Wolverines defeated the Boilermakers 80-75 Wednesday night at Mackey Arena.

Terone Johnson scored a career-high 32 points as the Boilers rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to lead by as many as 12 points in the second half. A basket by Terone Johnson with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game gave the Boilermakers a 52-40 lead.

Trey Burke scored 26 points to lead the Wolverines.

Purdue center Sandi Marcius scored the Boilermakers first nine points and finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Marcius left the game with an ankle injury in the second half and played very little after suffering the injury.

Rapheal Davis added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Boilermakers, who said he thinks the team is playing for more than just themselves at this point of the season.

“We are just playing hard and playing as hard as we have been and practicing as hard as we can. We have been putting everything together and just try and go out and play hard. We are playing for the coaches, playing for the alumni, and playing for the fans. We are just forgetting about ourselves and playing for everybody,” said Purdue freshman Rapheal Davis.

The Boilermakers trailed by three points in the final seconds and had a chance to tie but Terone Johnson was unable to gain control of a pass made by Ronnie Johnson, resulting in a Purdue turnover.

“It was a good pass it just slipped through my hands, I tried to come to the ball and It just slipped through my hands. It was a really good play and it is what we planned to do. Find me in the corner and that's what he did, I just lost the ball,” said Purdue junior Terone Johnson.

 “It's unfortunate that we couldn't come away with a victory for our guys confidence. At times you are just trying to win to keep your sanity as a player and as a coach. For these guys, they have worked really hard to make some strides at this point, we just dont quite piece it together,” said Purdue head coach Matt Painter. “We were also playing one of the top five teams in the country so we just have to keep going. We did some good things,” said Painter.

Purdue now 7-9 in the Big Ten and 14-16 overall closes out the regular season when the Boilers host Minnesota Saturday at noon at Mackey Arena. Seniors D.J. Byrd and Dru Anthrop will be honored following the conclusion of the Boilermakers game against the Golden Gophers.