In front of an incredible crowd at Welsh-Ryan Arena’s final game before renovations, Northwestern (21-10, 10-8 Big Ten) and Purdue (25-6, 14-4 Big Ten) battled tooth and nail to the end, but clutch free throws from Vince Edwards and the play of Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Caleb Swanigan down the stretch led the visitors to a 69-65 victory.
As has been the case often this season, Northwestern’s first score came Dererk Pardon who — at the opposite end of the court from his game-winning basket against Michigan — put in a layup to get the Wildcats going.