EAST LANSING, Mich. — In Purdue’s most important regular-season basketball game to date, it should come as no surprise that junior guard E’Twaun Moore attempted — and made — the most important shot.
The sixth-ranked Boilermakers’ leading scorer, who loves to play on the road, sank a 3-pointer with 4:15 remaining Tuesday night, giving Purdue a 68-62 lead on its way to a 76-64 victory against 10th-ranked Michigan State.
Through six Big Ten road games, Moore, who scored a game-best 25 points against the 2009 NCAA Tournament runner-up Spartans, is averaging 20.7 points. His 23-game average is 17.5.
Because Moore has been so lethal away from Mackey Arena, the Boilers are 4-2 in conference road games, including victories at Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.
“When you’re on the road, you have everybody against you,” Moore said of his knack for producing in clutch road-game situations. “It just feels good when you make a shot or something to silence the crowd. I don’t know what it is, but I just love playing on the road.”
After Michigan State cut a 55-37 Purdue lead to 65-62, Boilermakers coach Matt Painter called a timeout to design a play for Moore, who finished 8-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
“We got a lot of open looks, especially off the ball screens,” Moore said. “(JaJuan Johnson) did a good job screening. That allowed me to knock down a couple of 3s. It definitely changed the game at the end.”
During the timeout before his game-deciding 3, Moore said Painter encouraged his team to finish what it had started.
“In the huddle, he just said to calm down and stay poised,” Moore said. “He wanted us to go ahead and finish the game.”
Thanks to the man who thrives in road games, Purdue won in the Breslin Center for the first time since 1998.
“It was a huge shot,” Purdue forward Robbie Hummel said. “E’Twaun did a good job of just taking what the defense gave him.”
The Boilermakers ran several backdoor cuts to the basket for easy field goals.
“We were able to take advantage of some of the things they did defensively,” Hummel said. “We got the ball in transition.”
Painter, whose team now has won at least 20 games for a fourth consecutive season, said Tuesday night’s final stat sheet didn’t lie.
“You go to Michigan State and shoot 57 percent from the field, 91 percent from the free throw line and outrebound them (31-30), you’re going to win the game,” Painter said. “We put ourselves in a position to win the game.”
