Purdue University Northwest Sports Update, January 19, 2017

PNW-Mens-Hoops-Defeats-Governors-State-85-76Men's Hoops Defeats Governors State, 85-76 The Purdue University Northwest men’s basketball team picked up its second straight Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory Wednesday night, defeating Governors State 85-76.

Junior Torrance Johnson (Chicago Heights, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) racked up his 12th double-double of the season, recording 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting including 15 rebounds.

Chandler Spring (Covington, Ind./Covington) connected on a quartet of three-point field goals and finished the night with 16 points, while Tyree Coe (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) and Cyril Lewis (Houston, Texas/Virginia Union) each chipped in with 14 points.

PNW came out of the gates strong, after a three pointer from Coe put the Pride ahead 7-0.

The Black and Gold would continue its strong start, taking a 19-5 advantage with 13:19 to go in the opening half.

Governors State would answer back with a 9-0 run, cutting its deficit to two, 22-20, with 5:35 left in the half.

PNW would hold on to its lead, taking a 35-29 advantage heading to the break.

The Jaguars would hang with the Black and Gold for the first part of the second half, with the Pride leading 51-48 with 10:51 left in the game.

PNW would answer back and take a double-digit lead for the majority of the contest, with the Pride coming away with the 85-76 victory.

The Black and Gold shot 50.8 percent from the field compared to just 40.3 percent from the Jaguars, while both teams recorded 37 rebounds each.

Dalvin Echols connected on five trifectas for 19 points and Torrey Oliver scored 16 points to lead the Jaguars.

The Black and Gold return to action Saturday, Jan. 21, when they travel to Wyoming, Mich. For a non-conference contest with Grace Bible. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. (CT).

Second Half Fuels #15 Purdue Northwest to 72-48 Win over Governors State After a slow start, the No. 15 Purdue University Northwest women’s basketball team used a second-half surge to cruise to a big 72-48 conference victory over visiting Governors State University Wednesday night at the James B. Dworkin Center.

PNW (16-6, 11-2 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference) led by just seven, 38-31, at the half, then held the Jaguars (5-15, 4-8) to just 17 second-half points to pull away in the final 20 minutes.

Seniors Darien Thompson (Anderson, Ind./Anderson) and Cassidy Deno (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) led the way, with Thompson pouring in a game-high 19 points with four assists and Deno adding 15 points, eight boards and two blocks. PNW classmate Katie Wampler (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) chipped in 10 points on a crisp 3-of-5 from the floor to go along with six rebounds and two assists and sophomore Michaela Kikendall (Morristown, Ind./Morristown) added nine points, three assists and three steals.

Governors State, in its first season as a member of the CCAC, started the game out hot, as the Jaguars took a five-point lead with 1:56 to go in the first before PNW rallied to lead by just three, 20-17, after the opening frame. The Jaguars looked like they might take the momentum in the halftime break before the Pride got a spark off the bench from sophomore Heather Burton (Valparaiso, Ind./Washington Township), who hit back-to-back triples in the final 1:16 of the second quarter to send the home team into the locker room up seven.

PNW then outscored the Jaguars 12-8 in the third quarter to take a 50-39 lead into the fourth, before using a big fourth quarter to put GSU away. The Pride opened the final frame on a 12-3 run, fueled by seven points – including a 3-pointer – from Deno and layups from both Wampler and Jessica Kiser (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville).

Purdue Northwest shot 33.8 percent (22-of-65) for the game compared to 27.5 percent (19-of-69) for the Jaguars, and the Prides’ bench outscored GSU, 24-8. The Pride also won the battle on the boards, 53-47, thanks in large part to a game-high 14 rebounds from Ellie Michalski (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago).

Achuynnua Robinson led the Jaguars with 18 points on 9-of-27 shooting from the field in the loss.

PNW takes the weekend off before returning to action Wednesday, Jan. 25, with a CCAC contest at Calumet College of St. Joseph. Game time in Whiting, Ind., is set for 5 p.m. CT.