Corey Sanders and Rutgers almost stole the show again.
The junior guard torched No. 3 Purdue for a regulation career-high 31 points and keyed an inspired second half by the Scarlet Knights. The Boilermakers were just a tad too strong, though, to allow Rutgers a Seton Hall-esque encore.
Purdue managed to win its 19th straight game Saturday by holding off Rutgers in a 78-76 triumph that went down to the wire in front of a sellout crowd of 8,235 at the Rutgers Athletics Center in Piscataway.
Sanders drove the floor with 4.3 seconds left and pulled the Scarlet Knights within two, 76-74. The Boilermakers then were forced to call timeout after difficulties inbounding the ball. They got it in the second time around, and guard Carsen Edwards hit both free throws with 3.4 seconds left to cap his 13 points and seal the win after being fouled.
A last-second Geo Baker basket for Rutgers brought the game to its final score as the Scarlet Knights came tantalizingly close to defeating the highest-ranked team in program history.
Purdue is now 23-2 overall and 12-0 in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights (12-13, 2-10) suffered their fifth straight loss, but not before putting a mighty scare into the Boilermakers hours after No. 4 Duke was stunned by St. John's across the Hudson River at Madison Square Garden.
Rutgers pulled to within a point of the Boilermakers twice in the second half after trailing by 15 earlier in the game. But it was never able to get over the hump in the final minutes.
Up 55-54 with 8:06 to go, Purdue went on a 11-2 run to open up a 10-point lead with three minutes to go. But Rutgers wouldn't go away, getting to within three with 10.7 seconds left before Sanders' layup brought them even closer.
Rutgers was down 12 less than a minute into the second half and was down 10 with 16:34 to go. Then the Scarlet Knights made their move, embarking on a quick 7-0 run, with Sanders scoring five of the points, to pull within three, 46-43, with 15:11 left in the game.
The Scarlet Knights would get within a point of the Boilermakers twice from there, but they responded quickly on both occasions. Purdue quickly pushing its lead back up before Rutgers had a chance to break through and move ahead.
Baker had 16 points and Deshawn Freeman had 14 to go along with nine rebounds. Vincent Edwards led Purdue with 18 points and eight boards. Dakota Mathias had 16 for the Boilermakers and P.J. Thompson had 12.
Purdue led 38-27 at halftime. Rutgers shot relatively well in the first 20 minutes - 44.4 percent from the floor - but six turnovers were problematic. Sanders led all scorers in the first half with 10 points.
James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.