SPOKANE, Wash. -- Chris Kramer saw the opening, and it was just too inviting to wait.
"I had the ball, went right, and then just crossed over left and it kind of parted like the Red Sea," Kramer said. "At that point it just came down to finishing when [Bryan] Davis came over to try and block my shot."
Kramer finished, getting the ball to fall in over the left side of the rim, and the sequence -- which began with 10.1 seconds on the clock and ended with 4 seconds re-maining -- was enough to give the Purdue Boilermakers a 63-61 overtime victory over Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA tournament Sunday.
"They went early," A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. "With the score tied you usually go last shot and the defense was so bad, it kind of caught us off guard a little bit and Nate [Walkup] started ... Nate got out of step and [Kramer] was able to get all the way to the rim."
Turgeon inserted Walkup into the game for David Loubeau during a timeout before Purdue's winning play.
"We felt comfortable with Nate guarding Kramer there. Nate's done it for us all year," Turgeon said. "We just thought it was a better matchup than David guarding Kramer. It didn't work out that way, obviously, but no matter who was in there, David or him, they were going to drive him.
"It's so disappointing because we guarded so well in the half-court all day."
No. 10 Purdue (29-5) will head to Houston to play No. 1 seed Duke in a Sweet 16 matchup on Friday.
No. 23 A&M ended its season at 24-10.
"It was just a defensive breakdown, and I think we had been guarding hard for 44 minutes," Davis said. "I really didn't expect him to get the ball, I didn't know who would get it. He made a quick move and I almost got there to get a hand on it, but he made a tough shot, to his credit."
With Kramer making his move early, A&M had a final opportunity to tie or win the game.
Dash Harris brought the ball upcourt quickly and found B.J. Holmes in front of the Aggie bench. The 5-foot-11 junior got off a long, hurried shot that fell just short, and the Boilermakers celebrated while Holmes dropped to the floor in the exact spot he shot from. Davis, a senior, hunched over at the free-throw line with his jersey over his head.
"We knew that their four was going to be on Chris, and Chris had done a good job of getting inside by using dribble," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "We just said, 'If you can break him down, attack the rim.' You've got to give him credit for making the play."
Kramer had previously scored four of Purdue's overtime points, countering baskets by Davis, who had two dunks in the final five minutes.
Loubeau put A&M up 61-59 with a baby hook from the baseline with 1:18 remaining. E'Twaun Moore tied it 16 seconds later with a fadeaway jumper.
A&M had two opportunities to regain the lead. Donald Sloan missed near the end of the shot clock, but the Aggies got the ball back on a jump ball when Davis was tied up by Ryne Smith.
Davis then worked against 6-10 JaJuan Johnson, but his shot missed, Moore ran down the long rebound and Purdue called timeout.
After trailing most of the game, Purdue put together a 9-0 run, capped by a Keaton Grant steal that led to a breakaway dunk and a 55-50 lead at the 4:30 mark.
A&M turned up the defense and pulled even after a Loubeau tip-in off a Sloan miss and a Sloan layup off a steal and assist by Davis.
"I think that was a little bit of desperation," Davis said of the play that tied it with 1:25 remaining. "I saw [point guard Lewis Jackson do] his crossover and I was able to get a hand on it. I heard everyone screaming that somebody was coming behind me and Sloan slipped by and he was able to get a layup."
Sloan wasn't as fortunate on his next layup attempt, which with the score tied and 30 seconds left was blocked by Johnson.
"I saw he had slid past one of our guys and I think the clock was going down, so pretty much all he had the opportunity to do was shoot it," Johnson said. "I just tried to make the play on him and I was just hoping he didn't dish it to my man [Davis] for another dunk."
Sloan had one of his worst shooting nights of the season, going 4 for 17 from the field and not scoring in the second half until there was only 4:11 remaining in regulation.
Sloan finished with 11 points, seven below his average.
"Give them a lot of credit," Turgeon said. "Purdue's defense is the best we've seen. That today was as physical and relentless as we've played against all year and they keyed on [Sloan]. He got good looks, shots he's made in the paint. It just wasn't his day. It was his year, not his day."
Purdue waited to go for the win in regulation with Moore dribbling down the clock, but Harris forced Moore to lose the handle and Holmes sprawled on the floor with Moore to tie him up and get a jump ball.
The possession arrow was pointing A&M's way and the Aggies had the final opportunity of regulation, albeit a very small opportunity with just 1.1 seconds remaining.
From behind the midcourt line A&M got the ball to Holmes, who threw up a desperation 3 from about 30 feet out that went long.
A&M's biggest lead was 40-29, but after Sloan missed a reverse layup set up by a Harris steal, the Boilermakers scored 14 of the next 16 points.
Kramer, who finished with 17 points, started the run with two free throws and a basket.
D.J. Byrd (10 points), who came off the bench to score in double-figures for only the third time all season, was 4 of 5 from the field and ended the run with a 3.
In between, Johnson had two baskets and Smith, who was shooting 27 percent from behind the arc for the season, hit an NBA-range 3.
For the most part, Loubeau and Davis were able to take advantage inside against the Boilermakers, who start only one player over 6-4 since the season-ending injury to first-team All-Big Ten performer Robbie Hummel.
Davis had 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting and Loubeau finished with 12 for the Aggies, who shot 35 percent from the field.
Davis also had a game-high 15 rebounds as the Aggies outrebounded Purdue 45-39.
Kramer, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, had a season-high seven rebounds.
Johnson was in early foul trouble and went 0 for 6 in the first half and did not post a rebound. He finished with 11 points and three blocks.
Moore added 15 points for Purdue
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NOTES -- Friday's game marked Painter's first overtime win in six tries. ... The 11-point lead the Aggies surrendered was the second largest they gave up all season. A&M led Texas by 13 in Austin before losing in overtime. ... It was only the second time Davis and Kramer led their teams in scoring all season. ... A&M has lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament three straight seasons.
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