Dec. 22, 2009

Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. - Mark Yelovich scored a game-high 23 points but it wasn't enough as No. 4 Purdue downed Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 90-63 at Mackey Arena.

Yelovich tied a career high with five three-pointers and shot 9 of 13 from the field. Yelovich was perfect from beyond the arc as SIUE finished with a season-high 10 three-pointers for the game.

"He's been working on his three a little bit," SIUE Head Coach Lennox Forrester said. "I thought it was a team effort. They were getting him (Yelovich) the ball when he was open."

Purdue, now 11-0, used a 45-28 rebounding edge to gain 20 second-chance points. The Boilermakers also turned SIUE's 19 turnovers into 18 points off those turnovers. Purdue turned the ball over just six times.

JaJuan Johnson led five players in double figures for Purdue with 16 points. He was followed by 15 from E'Twaun Moore, 13 from Keaton Grant, 12 from Robbie Hummel and 10 off the bench from Patrick Bade.

Purdue went up 48-28 by halftime. The Cougars made a 14-6 run over a five-minute period early in the second half. Aamir McCleary's three-pointer at 14:34 pulled SIUE to within 12. Purdue then made a 25-7 run of its own to take a 30-point lead with 6:04 to play.

McCleary tied a career high with nine assists for the Cougars to go along with his 11 points.

"He did a good job tonight. He was attacking and penetrating under control and delivering the ball to wide-open guys," said Forrester.

Nikola Bundalo also scored a season-best 10 points, shooting 5 of 9 from the field.

"For the most part I was pleased with our effort, but we can't stop playing hard, working hard and trying to get better as a team," Forrester said.

-siue cougars-