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Oklahoma Outlasts Purdue For NIT Tip-Off Title

Saturday, November 29, 2008

(Sports Network) - Blake Griffin scored 18 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, as 11th-ranked Oklahoma won the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament with an 87-82 overtime win over 10th-ranked Purdue.

Willie Warren finished with 22 points, while Taylor Griffin added 19 points for the Sooners (6-0), who knocked off UAB in the semifinal round. Austin Johnson added 11 points and six assists in the win for Oklahoma, which took 46 free throws, making 33.

"Purdue is a great team, and for us to come in and play like we did and stay together like we did, I think that shows a lot about us," Blake Griffin said. "But at the same time we need to learn from our mistakes because we did make a lot in this game. I think we're right where we need to be right now, but we can't settle."

E'Twaun Moore had 22 points to pace Purdue (5-1), which had beaten Boston College in the semis. Nemanja Calasan had 20 points and eight rebounds, while Robbie Hummel had 10 points and nine boards before fouling out for the Boilermakers.

At the outset of the extra session, Purdue's Chris Kramer had a pair of free throws -- two of just four the Boilermakers made Friday -- before a jumper from Johnson knotted the game at 76-76.

Moore answered with a floater, and after Taylor Griffin threw a pass out of bounds, Calasan deposited a jumper for a four-point Purdue lead with just more than three minutes left. Warren's shot on the other end bounced in to get the Sooners within two, and a string of bad possessions by Purdue helped Oklahoma take the lead for good.

The Boilermakers didn't get a shot off in time on the ensuing possession, and after Blake Griffin's bank shot didn't fall and Warren was blocked, Oklahoma's Tony Crocker was fouled. He made one of two to bring the Sooners within 80-79 with 1:43 on the clock.

Kramer then airballed a jumper, leading to a foul on Blake Griffin with 1:05 remaining. He made both to put Oklahoma in front at 81-80. Moore lost the ball on Purdue's next touch, and after a scrum for the ball, Oklahoma inbounded the ball with 23.9 ticks left. Cade Davis was fouled, and made both shots for an 83-80 lead.

With 16.4 seconds remaining, Purdue had enough time to set up a shot, but Keaton Grant moved toward the baseline as Lewis Jackson's pass toward the sideline went out of bounds. Crocker and Warren each made two free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

"We really wanted to put Jackson, let him use his speed, get to the rim and get a layup with 10, 11, 12 seconds," Purdue head coach Matt Painter said of Jackson's pass. "He's gotta use his speed, get a layup and call time out and play defense. Obviously that's not what we were looking for at that time, but that's what we were trying to do."

The game went to overtime after a back-and-forth final few minutes. Taylor Griffin got a loose ball and fed it to Crocker for an easy layup with 2:34 left to put Oklahoma in front, 73-69.

But Moore drove for a layup before Calasan fought through a foul for another lay-in. He made the extra shot for a 74-73 Purdue lead with 1:22 on the clock. Oklahoma missed its next two shots before Blake Griffin was fouled. He missed the first shot, but made the second to tie the game with 52.2 ticks left.

Purdue had several chances for the win, but Marcus Green's three-pointer rimmed out, and Moore was stripped driving through the lane with time running out to send the game to overtime.

In a close first half, Blake Griffin's jumper with just seconds remaining brought Oklahoma within 40-36 at the break. The Sooners trailed by several possessions, and Purdue took a 67-58 lead with 8:13 left on a JaJuan Johnson jumper.

"I told them we're still going to win. I told them that now we just have to adjust defensively," Oklahoma head coach Jeff Capel said. "We're going to start making shots, but just stay poised and stay together. We have to make some adjustments defensively."

Davis answered with a three-pointer, and Blake Griffin followed with a free throw to get Oklahoma within 67-62. Calasan then had a jumper, but Oklahoma had seven straight points to draw even at 69-69 with 3:47 remaining, and the game was close the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Purdue went to the free throw line just five times. The Boilermakers, though, made 12-of-29 three-point attempts...The Sooners were 4-of-19 from beyond the arc, and just 25-of-61 (41 percent) overall from the field.

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