Junior forward Aleem Ford scored a career-high 19 points to pace Wisconsin to a 69-65 Big Ten Conference victory over Purdue on Tuesday in Madison, Wis.
Ford drilled five 3-pointers to help Wisconsin (16-10, 9-6 Big Ten) post a third straight win. The Badgers hit 19 of 20 free throws, including 15 of 16 in the second half.
Brad Davison, fresh off a 30-point performance three days earlier against Nebraska, scored 13 points for Wisconsin. Brevin Pritzl also had 13 points, and Nate Reuvers added 12.
Trevion Williams delivered team highs with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Boilermakers (14-13, 7-9), who have lost three consecutive games. Nojel Eastern contributed 14 points, and Sasha Stefanovic had 11, all in the second half.
In an effort to tie or the game or put Purdue ahead, Stefanovic missed a pair of 3-point attempts with less than 37 seconds left.
The Badgers' victory gave the teams one win each in the season series. Purdue secured a 70-51 home win on Jan. 24.
Stefanovic drained a 3-pointer with 1:41 to go to trim Wisconsin's lead to 61-59, but the Badgers held on for the win.
The game started with cold shooting by both teams, with Wisconsin's D'Mitrik Trice scoring the first basket, a 3-pointer, with 17:01 to go in the half.
Aaron Wheeler capped a 9-0 Purdue run with a pair of free throws that gave the Boilermakers a 24-22 lead with 1:48 to go before the break. It marked the first time Purdue led in three games.
Purdue scored 19 second-chance points in the setback and outrebounded Wisconsin 37-30.
The Boilermakers dealt with foul trouble. Eric Hunter Jr., the team's second-leading scorer at 10.4 points per game, was forced to sit early in the first half with two fouls.
Williams and Matt Haarms had three fouls a piece with less than 15 minutes to go.
The Badgers led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but Purdue trimmed the deficit to 59-56 on a layup and free throw by Eastern with 2:34 to go.
--Field Level Media
