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Boilermakers Hold Off Huskies

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 22, 2009

PORTLAND, Ore. - Purdue was teetering. Desperate Washington was roaring back. The Huskies' close-to-home crowd was screaming. And the stifling intensity that makes the NCAA Tournament so popular blanketed the court.

Amid all that, JaJuan Johnson stood tallest.

As if on a pogo stick, Johnson blocked not one but two attempts by Washington to tie the game with a minute remaining. He also scored 22 points as the fifth-seeded Boilermakers held off a frantic charge to beat the fourth-seeded Huskies 76-74 Saturday to advance to its first region semifinals since 2000.

"We finally got over the hump!" E'Twaun Moore said in the hallway of the arena minutes after his clinching free throws with 5.5 seconds remaining for the Boilermakers (27-9). The Big Ten tournament champions led the entire game but nearly blew a 14-point lead.

Now comes top-seeded Connecticut.

"A lot of people talk about offensive possessions and making shots. It always comes down to making stops," Purdue coach Matt Painter said of the 6-foot-10 Johnson denying Isaiah Thomas' dash to the basket and then Quincy Pondexter's short jumper in the lane with 57.8 seconds left.

Thomas scored 24 points, Pondexter had 20 with 10 rebounds and Jon Brockman added 20 points with 18 rebounds - the 60th and final double-double of his career for the nation's active leader in those - for Washington (26-9). The Pac-10 regular-season champion trailed by 14 early in the second half before getting to within two five times in the final 7:13, but never was able to tie or go ahead.

The Associated Press

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