WEST LAFAYETTE — A.J. Hammons simply was not going to be denied.
After Rapheal Davis made the go-ahead free throw and missed the second, the Gary native emerged from a scrum with the offensive rebound.
Hammons let out a yell as the final seconds ticked off the clock in overtime. His teammates swarmed him after No. 18 Purdue came away with an 82-81 Big Ten win over No. 8 Michigan State on Tuesday night at Mackey Arena.
More Top Picks Oral Sensory Seeking In Kids Causes And Strategies
“I was just really going to make them foul me,” Hammons said of the final play. “I knew there was only a few seconds left, and I wanted to make them foul me and make the free throws. I saw they were fighting, and I just tried to reach in there and get that ball.
“I was just happy to beat them finally. It took until my fourth year to beat them.”
Indeed, the Boilermakers (20-5, 8-4) ended a seven-game losing streak to the Spartans (20-5, 7-5). Purdue also beat a Top 10 team for the first time since Feb. 20, 2011, when East Chicago Central graduate E’Twaun Moore scored a career-high 38 points against Ohio State.
Davis compared Purdue’s rivalry with Michigan State to the one with Indiana.
“That was an unbelievable feeling,” he said. “I was telling these guys since the summer I wanted to beat Michigan State.”
The senior duo of Hammons and Davis led the Boilermakers to their breakthrough win, with Purdue squandering an 18-point lead before rallying.
With 18 scouts from 16 NBA teams in attendance, Hammons had 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots to tie his career high. It was his third straight double-double, the first Purdue player since Carl Landry in 2007 to have such a string.
Davis matched his career high with 24 points, including shooting 6-for-8 from 3-point range. He had 19 in the first half, including shooting 5-for-5 from 3.
“Rapheal was unbelievable,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “He was really, really good in the first half and overtime. In the second half, he lost his mind. I love him, but he lost his mind. … But he’s resilient, he’s tough, he’s about us.”
With the game on the line, Hammons set a screen, and Davis got bumped with 4.6 seconds left in overtime. Davis made the decisive free throw.
“I knew I could get a basket or get fouled,” Davis said “I was able to make a free throw for my teammates. My teammates deserved it, I deserved it, the coaches deserved it, we all deserved it. It’s what a senior is supposed to do.”
Behind Davis, Purdue led 46-30 at halftime. When Hammons scored on a putback 33 seconds into the second half, the Boilermakers opened a 48-30 lead.
But the Spartans came all the way back, grabbing a 72-68 lead with 1:59 left in the second half. Freshman forward Caleb Swanigan, a one-time Michigan State commit, scored the final four points of regulation for the Boilermakers.
Vince Edwards scored six points in OT, including a three-point play. Hammons scored three, including a nifty hook.
Davis scored the winning point after Denzel Valentine (27 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists) tied the score at 81-81 with 11.5 seconds left.
“I didn’t come out like I wanted to, but I’m proud of Ray,” Hammons said. “He came out hot. When someone is hot like that, you have to get him the ball. He’s worked hard all four years.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff