WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Bryan Hopkins had been hounded all day by Purdue's physical defense.
He scored just two through the first 39 minutes of Sunday's game, but it didn't matter. Hopkins scored on a driving layup with 24 seconds left to lift Southern Methodist to a 60-59 upset of No. 17 Purdue in the championship game of the Boilermaker Invitational.
"To win like this is tremendous for our guys," coach Mike Dement said. "It's rare to win one of these."
Purdue's Kenneth Lowe had two chances to win, but Justin Isham rebounded his miss on the next possession, then Lowe missed a coast-to-coast drive as time expired.
"I tried my best to get to the basket, but I got cut off so I just tried to pull up and make the shot," Lowe said.
The Boilermakers lost their tournament's championship game for just the second time in the event's 13-year history. The last time they lost was Dec. 7, 1991, to Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Hopkins' shot capped a frustrating day for the sophomore, who scored 35 in the Mustangs' first-round win over Miami of Ohio.
"I was coming off a 35-point game, so I knew they were going to be looking for me to score," said Hopkins, who finished with four points on 2-of-8 shooting. "Shots weren't falling for me early, so I just tried to get my teammates involved."
Lowe, who was selected tournament MVP, scored 14 of his 19 in the second half for Purdue.
Nevada upsets Jayhawks
RENO, Nev. - Kirk Snyder had 29 points and nine rebounds and Nevada used sharp free-throw shooting down the stretch to upset No. 6 Kansas 75-61 at the Wolf Pack Holiday Classic.
Nevada made 19 of 21 free throws over the final 10 minutes to hold off the Jayhawks. Todd Okeson had 12 points and Kevinn Pinkney added 10 for the Wolf Pack, mobbed by more than 100 students who charged the floor at the buzzer before the sixth-largest crowd in school history, 10,983.
Keith Langford and Aaron Miles each had 11 points for Kansas, which went on a 20-8 run late the game to pull within 68-61 with 1:47 left but couldn't overcome a 40-20 halftime deficit.
NO. 5 GA. TECH 79, ST. JOHN'S 66: B.J. Elder scored 11 of his 15 in the second half for host Georgia Tech, spoiling the debut of interim coach Kevin Clark. Mike Jarvis was fired Friday, only six games into his sixth season. St. John's lost four of its first five, which had not happened since 1922-23.
"Coach Jarvis was a great coach," forward Grady Reynolds said. "We wanted to win this game for him."
The Yellow Jackets (10-0) continued their best start since 1985-86, the last season they were ranked in the Top 5. They held St. John's to 40 percent shooting and forced 14 turnovers. Elijah Ingram shook off a bloody nose to finish with 21 points for the Red Storm.
NO. 10 MIZZOU 106, UNC-GREENSBORO 98: Jason Conley, a transfer playing in his first game, and Arthur Johnson each scored 19 to lead the host Tigers. Rickey Paulding, a preseason All-American who was held scoreless until the midway point of the second half, hit a 3-pointer to ignite an 11-0 run that gave Missouri a 92-76 lead with less than seven minutes left.
Jay Joseph and Ronnie Burrell each had 22 points for the Spartans. Conley, a junior who led the nation in scoring as a freshman at VMI, had to sit out until Missouri's semester break after transferring at the end of the first semester last year.
Nation
NOTRE DAME 78, AMERICAN 74: Chris Thomas scored a season-high 28, including 11 in the final 3:18, to lift the host Irish. American, which shot a season-high 63 percent, closed to 76-74 when Andre Ingram hit a 3 with 1.6 seconds left. But Thomas made a pair of free throws with .5 seconds left to seal it.
PROVIDENCE 72, CENTRAL CONN. 67: Rob Sanders scored a career-high 21 and Ryan Gomes had nine of his 17 points in the closing eight minutes to lift the host Friars. Donnie McGrath hit three free throws in the closing 33.8 seconds and finished with 13 points for Providence. Ron Robinson led Central Connecticut, which had a pair of 12-point leads in the first half, with a career-high 29 points.
MIAMI (OHIO) 63, IPFW 52: Josh Hausfeld scored 16 to lead Miami of Ohio in the consolation game of the Boilermaker Invitational. Hausfeld scored 14, including four 3-pointers, in the first half as the RedHawks took a 42-25 lead. David Simon scored 22 and had six rebounds for Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne.
Late Saturday
NO. 9 STANFORD 87, NO. 13 GONZAGA 80: Matt Lottich scored a career-high 34 with six 3-pointers and the Cardinal (7-0) remained unbeaten with a win in the Pete Newell Challenge in Oakland, Calif. Blake Stepp and Adam Morrison each had 20 points to lead Gonzaga, which had its seven-game win streak snapped.
NO. 11 SAINT JOSEPH'S 59, CAL 57: Jameer Nelson hit a fadeaway jumper with 4.3 seconds left and finished with 19 points for Saint Joseph's in the Pete Newell Challenge. Golden Bears freshman Leon Powe recorded his sixth double double in seven games with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
