PORTLAND, Ore.—Regardless of how he ended his career, there would be no questioning of Jon Brockman’s merits as one of the greatest basketball players in Washington’s basketball history, no doubt about the impact he made on the program during four years in which he became the school’s all-time leading rebounder and second-leading scorer.

But in a gut-it-out game in the second round of the NCAA tournament, a bruising contest suited to the rugged senior’s style, even one of the more impressive outings of his career wasn’t enough to prolong it.

The curtain closed on the Huskies’ season Saturday at the Rose Garden, as Purdue withstood a furious second-half comeback to advance to the Sweet 16 and never trailed in a 76-74 win that ends the playing careers of Brockman, Justin Dentmon and Artem Wallace.

“Just couldn’t get over that hump,” Brockman said. “I was fully confident. I really had faith in our guys. I thought we were going to get back into it. I thought we were going to take the lead.”

If blame is to be placed on anyone, it won’t be Brockman. In his final game as a Husky, the big man scored 20 points and snagged 18 rebounds, scoring eight of his team’s final 10 points and grabbing over half of their rebounds.

In the end, the rebounding battle was technically a wash, as both teams pulled down 34. But the Boilermakers held an edge on the glass almost the whole game, always seeming to claim an offensive rebound or get a key put-back to keep UW from completely erasing what was once a 14-point deficit.

“In the end, the smarter team won,” Brockman said. “They made a lot smarter plays. They played a lot smarter basketball the first half. That’s where they get their advantage.”

And that’s what Husky fans will likely point to with the most frustration. Washington played one of its worst first halves of the season, practically sleep-walking as Purdue raced out to a 20-8 lead midway through the first half.

UW (26-9) trailed 39-28 after a first half that saw the Huskies shoot 11-31 from the floor, while the Boilermakers made 15-34 and sank 5-11 from 3-point range.

Purdue’s in-your-face, man-to-man defense had a lot to do with it. The Boilers pressured the perimeter much the same way UW does, but with better results than the Huskies.

“We told our team that they’d probably get after us defensively more than anyone we had faced this year,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said. “I don’t think we really handled it well in the first half, and in the second half we handled it much better.”

JaJuan Johnson, Purdue’s 6-foot-10 center, had his way in the paint. He scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, joining in double-figures E’Twaun Moore, who had 14, Lewis Jackson, who had 11, and Keaton Grant, who had 10.

It was just too much to make up on this day. Washington got the crowd back into it after a 3-pointer by Elston Turner cut the deficit to four with 9:36 to go, then Isaiah Thomas sank two free throws to make it 60-58 with 7:13 remaining.

But every time the Huskies looked like they were about to break through, Purdue came with an answer, either by collecting a loose ball, or taking advantage of a tightly-called game at the free throw line. UW defensive stopper Venoy Overton was whistled for four fouls in the second half alone, some of them questionable.

“I felt like the refs were just blowing the whistle a little too much,” Overton said. “I think if it didn’t affect the play, then they shouldn’t have called it. But that’s how it was.”

The Boilermakers (27-9) scored six straight after Thomas’ free throws to make it 66-58 with 5:49 to go.

Then Brockman scored a bucket, and Thomas converted an and-one to make it 67-64.

Jackson made two free throws. Brockman split a pair and made a tip-in to cut the lead back to two.

Moore made two free throws. Brockman scored again.

Chris Kramer made a driving lay-up. Brockman scored again.

Then after finally getting a stop, Thomas, who scored a game-high 24 points, missed a runner with 18.8 seconds left that could have tied it. Two more free throws by Moore ensured that the Purdue lead would stay at two possessions for the remainder, save for Quincy Pondexter’s meaningless bucket as time expired.

Pondexter continued to announce his presence as one of the Pac-10’s premier players, following his 23-point outing on Thursday with 20 points and 10 rebounds in this one, scoring multiple times in the first half to keep his team within striking distance.

He’ll have his chance to return to the same stage next year, but for Brockman, Dentmon and Wallace, Saturday ended a career that was highlighted by what most will consider a successful senior season.

“It’ll keep setting in as these guys go back and start workouts again, and I won’t be a part of it,” Brockman said. “Little things. It’ll start setting in but I’m just proud of these guys, thankful that they were able to get me back to this tournament.”

Reach reporter Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.