Georgia Impeaches Purdue

West Region

This time, there was no reprieve for Purdue.

No. 8 Georgia parlayed the shot-blocking and scoring of senior Terrell Bell and top-seeded Purdue’s icy first-half shooting into a 76-69 win Saturday in the second round of the West Regional.

The 6-foot-10 Bell had 15 points, blocked seven shots and made a shambles of Purdue’s inside offense. His final block of a dunk attempt by Purdue’s Justin Jennings came with 1 minute, 19 seconds left and Georgia up 70-64 and ended the Boilermakers’ hopes.

Georgia coach Tubby Smith said Bell is capable of taking a team a long way in the tournament.

“He’s young as far as basketball is concerned. He’s just starting to learn how to play offensively, but defensively, he’s as good as anyone,” Smith said. “Going to Denver (site of the West semifinals), it gives me a lot of confidence that I can keep him in late-game situations.”

Georgia forward Carlos Strong said the Bulldogs defense fed off Bell. “Terrell blocked lots of shots and even the ones he didn’t block, he altered,” Strong said.

Purdue, which escaped becoming the first top-seeded team in tournament history to lose to a No. 16 by edging Western Carolina 73-71 in Thursday’s first round, shot itself out of the tournament during a 9-minute stretch of the first half.

Unlike its first-round survival, when Western Carolina missed two shots in the final seconds, the Boilermakers got no closer than five points in the second half.

Strong scored 17 points and Shandon Anderson 15 for Georgia. Chad Austin led Purdue with 15 points.

“If you go back and check Purdue’s history in the tournament, we seem to have problems sustaining a lead,” coach Gene Keady said. “We didn’t deserve (to be a top seed) today and we got eliminated.”

Georgia 76, Purdue 69

Georgia (21-9) - Strong 6-11 5-8 17, Anderson 5-7 4-6 15, Bell 5-5 5-7 15, Robinson 1-5 3-4 5, Davis 3-8 5-6 12, Smith 1-3 3-4 6, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Harrison 1-5 2-2 4, Chadwick 0-0 0-0 0, Nordin 1-2 0-1 2. Totals 23-47 27-38 76.

Purdue (26-6) - Dove 1-3 2-3 4, Hairston 0-2 0-0 0, Brantley 4-7 4-4 14, Austin 6-13 2-2 15, Roberts 3-13 0-1 8, Eldridge 0-0 0-0 0, Foster 2-7 1-2 7, Jennings 3-7 7-10 13, Clay 0-1 0-0 0, Miller 3-6 2-5 8. Totals 22-59 18-27 69.

Halftime-Georgia 48, Purdue 35. 3-Point goals-Georgia 3-10 (Anderson 1-1, Davis 1-2, Smith 1-2, Robinson 0-2, Harrison 0-3), Purdue 7-22 (Brantley 2-3, Foster 2-7, Roberts 2-8, Austin 1-3, Jennings 0-1). Fouled out-Davis, Brantley, Miller. Rebounds- Georgia 33 (Strong, Bell 8), Purdue 37 (Roberts 8). Assists- Georgia 18 (Davis, Harrison 4), Purdue 11 (Foster 4). Total fouls- Georgia 23, Purdue 26. A-NA.

Syracuse 69, Drexel 58

The Orangemen advanced to the West Regional by relying on a towering front line of John Wallace, Otis Hill and Todd Burgan to keep the Dragons in check.

Wallace scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, when he played with three fouls. Hill added 16 points and Lazarus Sims had nine of his 12 in the second half.

Malik Rose, Drexel’s tuba-playing star, held his own in rebounding against the taller Wallace, but Syracuse’s defense limited him to five shots in the game’s opening 35 minutes.

Rose finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds to move past Virginia’s Ralph Sampson into second place on the NCAA’s career rebounding list.

Jeff Myers’ 3-pointer gave Drexel its last lead, 35-32, with 15:40 remaining. He led the Dragons with 18 points.

The No. 12 Dragons had shocked fifth-seeded Memphis 75-63 on Thursday.

Drexel (27-4) - Myers 6-14 3-4 18, Guittar 1-8 0-0 2, Rose 4-8 3-7 11, DeRocckis 3-8 1-2 9, Overby 5-14 5-6 16, Gaffney 0-0 0-0 0, Neisler 0-1 0-0 0, Frey 0-1 0-0 0, Hudgins 0-0 0-0 0, Riley 1-1 0-0 2, Fischer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 12-19 58.

Syracuse (26-8) - Burgan 4-11 0-3 9, Wallace 8-20 1-2 18, Hill 8-10 0-0 16, Sims 3-6 3-4 12, Cipolla 2-6 3-4 7, Reafsnyder 3-5 1-2 7, Janulis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 8-15 69.

Halftime-Drexel 24, Syracuse 24. 3-Point goals-Drexel 6-30 (Myers 3-8, DeRocckis 2-6, Overby 1-6, Guittar 0-6, Rose 0-2, Neisler 0-1, Frey 0-1), Syracuse 5-12 (Sims 3-5, Wallace 1-3, Burgan 1-4). Fouled out-Guittar. Rebounds-Drexel 35 (Rose 15), Syracuse 38 (Hill 8). Assists-Drexel 7 (Myers, DeRocckis, Overby 2), Syracuse 14 (Sims 7). Total fouls-Drexel 19, Syracuse 14. A-15,792.

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