Fast Start Fuels No. 4 Purdue Basketball to 85-66 Win Over Hofstra

Purdue jumped to a 20-2 lead over Hofstra in the first six minutes of play, giving the team enough cushion for a 19-point victory. The Boilermakers had five scorers in double figures, led by junior center Zach Edey’s eighth consecutive game of at least 20 points.

D.J. Fezler | Dec 7, 2022

In this story:

Purdue Boilermakers

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Without its leading scorer, Hofstra stood no chance against junior center Zach Edey and the No. 4-ranked Purdue basketball team, as the Boilermakers found an early lead and never looked back in an 85-66 win Wednesday night at Mackey Arena.

With a team-high 23 points and 18 rebounds, Edey registered his seventh double-double of the season. He has scored at least 20 points in eight consecutive matchups, surpassing JaJuan Johnson’s stretch of seven games during the 2010-11 campaign as the longest streak of the Matt Painter era.

Dec 7, 2022; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) dunks the ball during the first half of the game against the Hofstra Pride at Mackey Arena / © Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

Purdue dominated the glass, finishing with a 43-20 rebounding advantage while coming down with 14 offensive boards compared to just one by Hofstra, which counted as a team rebound. The team scored 19 second-chance points in the contest, which equaled the margin of victory.

"I don't think I've ever been in a game when an opposing team, no individual has an offensive rebound," Painter said. "So that was really the separation in the game."

Redshirt senior guard Aaron Estrada — who averages 21.7 points per game this season — was out of the lineup for the Pride due to an ankle injury, and his absence was evident from the opening tip. Edey and freshman guard Braden Smith combined to score the first nine points for the Boilermakers, and the team surged to a 20-2 lead in the first six minutes of play.

But after trailing by as many as 21 points, Hofstra punched back with an efficient first half on the offensive end of the court. The Pride shot 48% from the field before halftime, which included five 3-pointers, and were led by 17 points by redshirt freshman guard Amar’e Marshall. They made 10-of-11 shots in a stretch that included an 8-0 run to cut their deficit to as little as 12 points.

“The first 10 minutes of the game, we dominated it, but then for 30 minutes, it's a straight basketball game," Painter said. "And for a team that doesn't have a guy that's Player of the Year in their conference ... Estrada is a fabulous player. Not to have him, they're going to be really good. That's an NCAA Tournament team right there when you put Estrada back in there."

Hofstra needed all the firepower it could muster as Purdue made 54% of its shot attempts and ended the first half with a 7-0 run of its own to take a 54-34 lead into the locker room. Edey notched 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds, and the team also made eight of its first 18 attempts from the 3-point line.

Smith — who made a trio of 3-pointers in the opening period — and sophomore forward Caleb Furst each scored in double figures by halftime, recording 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Hofstra continued its strong shooting night by knocking its first five shot attempts to open the second half. In a hostile environment, it had three players score at least 10 points, with Marshall leading all scorers with 24. Sophomore Darlinstone Dubar notched 14 points while redshirt senior Tyler Thomas put up 10.

“He hit some tough shots," Smith said of Marshall. "We were playing good defense, he got a loose a little bit. But I think overall, defensively we were fine. He's hitting shots and we're contesting them, so just high-five him and move on."

Freshman guard Fletcher Loyer put together an efficient second half to ensure that the Boilermakers kept control of the game, scoring eight of the team’s first 10 points after the break. He finished with 10 points on just 2-of-9 shooting but sunk all five of his free throws.

With Edey drawing so much attention down low, Loyer and Smith took advantage of their space on the perimeter and were effective in getting shot attempts in the lane. Smith posted 13 points to go along with five points and two assists after being held scoreless on Sunday against Minnesota.

Dec 7, 2022; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) shoots the ball during the second half against the Hofstra Pride at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers beat the Pride, 85-66 / © Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

"We're all unselfish, we all enjoy being like that. Just finding the extra guy," Smith said. "Obviously, we're going to give Zach the ball when we can, and he's going to make plays and he's going to have those big nights. And that's what we want.

"Because when that happens, they double team and he's good enough to make the pass out, and then we'll kick it out and swing one more and knock down a 3. It's super helpful when that happens, and just being able to have those unselfish teammates, it's also really fun to play with."

Purdue maintained its advantage with an 8-0 run to take a 70-46 lead with 14:19 to play. The 24-point lead was the team’s largest of the night, capped by a pair of baskets from redshirt freshman forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. He and Furst combined for 25 points as junior forward Mason Gillis missed his second straight contest due to a back injury.

“Playing with Zach, it just makes it easy on us because he demands so much attention,” Furst said. "With the way that he can pass out of the post, score all these things, we just have to play off of him and we've been able to do that so far."

After finishing a brief two-game homestand with a pair of victories, Purdue is now 9-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 season, when it opened with an 11-0 record.

The team will go on the road for a matchup against Nebraska on Saturday, Dec. 10, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb. The game is scheduled to tip off at 2:15 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Related Stories on Purdue Basketball