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Michigan wins over No. 14 Purdue 82-70

Posted at 8:17 PM, Feb 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-25 20:18:28-05

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Moe Wagner scored 22 of his 24 points in the first half, outplaying everyone on Purdue’s vaunted front line and leading Michigan to an 82-70 victory over the 14th-ranked Boilermakers on Saturday.

Derrick Walton added 17 points and 11 rebounds in his final scheduled home game, and the Wolverines (19-10, 9-7 Big Ten) took another big step toward an NCAA Tournament berth. Michigan has won five of six, including victories over Michigan State, Wisconsin and Purdue.

The Boilermakers (23-6, 12-4) had their six-game winning streak snapped and could fall into a tie for first in the Big Ten with Wisconsin if the Badgers win at Michigan State on Sunday.

Caleb Swanigan scored 18 points for Purdue, but the Boilermakers couldn’t take full advantage of their edge in size. The 6-foot-9 Swanigan and 7-foot-2 Isaac Haas combined to outscore Wagner by only two points.

Michigan made seven consecutive shots to take a 33-20 lead on a 3-pointer by Walton. Wagner added a 3 moments later, giving him the same number of points (20) as Purdue’s whole team.

Duncan Robinson’s fadeaway 3-pointer from the right corner gave the Wolverines a 45-30 lead at halftime, and although some foul problems limited Wagner in the second half, Michigan got enough contributions to maintain a comfortable lead.

Xavier Simpson and D.J. Wilson made 3-pointers to put the Wolverines up 63-42. When Purdue cut the lead to 11, Wagner was there for a putback to make it 70-57.

The Boilermakers trailed 73-67 after an 8-0 run late in the second half, but with the shot clock running down, Walton leaned inside of Purdue’s P.J. Thompson to sink a 3-pointer that pushed the lead back to nine with 1:43 to play.