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m e n ��� s b a s k e t b a l l season ends at hands of santa clara BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com SANTA CLARA 86, PURDUE 83 March 25 ��� Mackey Arena Matt Painter put his team in the College Basketball Invitational in hopes of it gaining as much additional experience as possible, but its run in the CBI was short-lived and thus the Boilermakers only got two games out of it. Santa Clara star Kevin Foster scored 28 of his 34 points in the second half and helped the Broncos withstand a late Purdue rally that fell just short. ���He played like a senior,��� Purdue coach Matt Painter said of Foster. ���He was going to take those shots. For a lot of people, those are bad shots. But for him, it���s a rhythm thing. You don���t slip on a banana peel and score 2,300 points in your career. He���s the best scorer we���ve faced all year, no doubt about it. ���Trey Burke is a very good lead guard and may be the best player in the country, but when it comes to a guy playing the 2 and being able to put the ball in the basket, he���s the best we���ve faced all year.��� Freshman point guard Ronnie Johnson scored 27 points, including nine within the span of about 42 seconds, as Purdue went from 10 down with two minutes left to having two shots in the final seconds to tie the game. But Terone Johnson, who scored 22, missed a jumper with eight seconds left, then a three at the buzzer, either of which would have knotted the score in the game���s closing seconds. Foster���s heroics ��� his tough threepointer with 35 seconds left was certainly the shot of the game ��� did Purdue in, but the Boilermakers��� flaws showed up again, contributing to their offseason beginning sooner than hoped. Purdue was just 1-of-11 from threepoint range; freshman center A.J. Hammons was a non-factor, shooting 1-of-5; and the hosts opened the second half in a lull, getting outscored 17-4. ���They stole our joy, stole our spirit, however you want to say it,��� Painter said. ���We���ve struggled all year to start second halves. I don���t know what it is. We can���t get in that position. You���re at home. You can���t let that happen.��� It���s one of the many questions Purdue now has the entire offseason to ponder. Key player Foster was obviously the player of the game. From a Purdue perspective, that distinction goes to Ronnie Johnson, who almost single-handedly kept the Boiler- makers alive. Twice between the twominute and one-minute marks, Johnson scored, stole the inbound, then scored again, piling up nine points in that span. Key stretch It was again the start of the second half that did Purdue in. It led by four at the half, but Santa Clara used a 7-2 run to quickly tie it, then a 10-0 run shortly thereafter, sparked by back-to-back threes, to open a lead that peaked at 12 with less than eight minutes left. Key stat Not counting a couple short turnarounds by big men, Purdue made one jump shot against Santa Clara. Not just three-pointer. Jump shot ��� period. D.J. Byrd���s three was the only jumper the Boilermakers made, as Purdue went 1-ofTom Campbell 11 from three-point range A.J. Hammons was a non-factor for Purdue against Santa Clara, making only and missed every mid-range one of his five shots. jumper it attempted. GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 27��� ������ 17