Carried by Caleb Swanigan, Purdue scores the road victory it badly needed

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Dakota Mathias' three caught iron and went flying right of the rim, as Caleb Swanigan took aim from the opposite side of the lane.

The Boilermaker big man flew to the ball and corralled it before a Spartan could, pitched it to Mathias, then went tumbling to the floor

"I didn't see it," Swanigan said. "Did (Mathias) hit the three? I fell."

He did.

It was Mathias who drained the do-over that served as the biggest play of the game in one of Purdue's biggest wins of the season, Tuesday night's 84-73 win at Michigan State.

It was all effort on Swanigan's part. That's his M.O. every time out.

But tonight, regardless of whether he might downplay it, it was personal.

And whatever that "it" was in Swanigan's first — and probably only — trip to East Lansing to the school to which he was once verbally committed, it fueled a virtuoso performance that should cement the name "Swanigan" in the National Player-of-the-Year race, if it wasn't already.

Booed every time he touched the ball, grabbed a rebound or looked in the general direction of the Michigan State student section — which surrounds the court, by the way — Swanigan poured in 25 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.

"You can't let it get personal," Swanigan said, "because then you don't play well. You make selfish plays and selfish decisions. You can't make it personal; you have to make it about Purdue."

That said, this is one Swanigan can surely savor for reasons that go beyond Purdue scoring a needed road win against a years-long nemesis and validating itself somewhat following its shaky play on the road thus far this season.

There were many crucial contributors in this victory.

P.J. Thompson made two critical second-half three-pointers, the second with just under four minutes to play to give Purdue a double-digit lead shortly after Mathias' aforementioned triple off Swanigan's offensive rebound, one of his six and one of Purdue's 11, leading to 15 second-chance points (to Michigan State's five.)

"We wanted to flip that on them," Matt Painter said of offensive rebounding. "(Michigan State's) so good at that."

While Thompson was on the bench in foul trouble, Spike Albrecht gave Purdue great minutes playing against his old arch-rival.

Looking unfazed, freshman Carsen Edwards scored 12 points, buoying the Boilermakers offensively in the game's early going. He didn't commit a turnover, nor did any Purdue guard for that matter.

Vincent Edwards endured a rough night, finishing 2-of-8 from the floor and seeing his defensive assignment, Miles Bridges, net 33, but he's been plagued by a back injury of late and still chipped in 10 points, with some clutch foul shooting to close the game out. Purdue was 21-of-24 at the stripe for the game.

Mathias made a big shot; Ryan Cline made two in the first half.

And Isaac Haas, giving another outstanding effort, put in 11 points, compelling his coach afterward to say, "We have to get him the ball more."

But for all the key players in this one, this was obviously Swanigan's night.

He did everything for Purdue. Never mind the seven turnovers. They hardly mattered when all was said and done.

"I think it was personal (for Swanigan)," Haas said. "He put in extra work and was really focused throughout the entire process of preparing and it led to big things. I'm sure it'll be just as personal next time we play them."

Led by Swanigan, Purdue showed some mettle previously unseen on the road.

The Boilermakers trailed by eight in the first half after a flurry of ill-advised shots and a deluge of Michigan State threes — it made 7-of-12 in the first half and shot 59 percent overall. It could have gone sideways then and there. But Purdue settled itself and used a 10-0 run late in the half to claim a lead. Michigan State tied it at the halftime buzzer though.

In the second, Purdue found itself defensively after a wobbly start. The Spartans shot 44 percent in the final 20 minutes, as the Boilermakers got the stops they couldn't in the first half, the defensive stands needed to secure an important victory.

"This was a really good chance to come in here and prove what we're made of," Haas said. "Our experience and intelligence (showed up)."

This was the first game in a stretch of four of five on the road, a cluster of games that'll include some of the season's toughest.

Obviously, this was an ideal start.

"We're more experienced now," Thompson said. "We know how to win on the road and tonight showed that. This is a hard place to play and any team you can great a road win, especially of this caliber, it's big-time. Michigan State is a good team. They're young, but they have great pieces."

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