Free Throws Fuel No. 1 Purdue Basketball in 69-61 Win Over Davidson
INDIANAPOLIS — Purdue basketball (11-0, 2-0 Big Ten) was dormant on its perimeter shots but managed to knock down 28-of-37 free throws to pick up a 69-61 victory over Davidson (7-4) on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as part of the 2022 Indy Classic.
The team shot 3-for-25 from the 3-point line and managed just one point from its bench. However, the No. 1-ranked Boilermakers dominated the glass, coming away with 17 offensive rebounds and scoring 19 second-chance points.
They were led by junior center Zach Edey's 29 points and 16 rebounds in the win. He was among four players on the team to score in double figures and one of three that recorded a double-double.
"The difference in the game was our ability to make our free throws, get a lot of free throws and obviously rebound," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "I thought this was a game that would have been a real struggle for us last year. And going 3-for-25 from 3 and having 3-point shooters that we do is frustrating.
"Our guys put in a lot of time shooting the basketball, and a lot of them are here because they can shoot the basketball. So that's been the last couple of games, pretty frustrating. But I have all the confidence in the world for the people who take 3s for us."
Purdue jumped to an early 9-0 lead to open the game as freshman guard Fletcher Loyer scored the first five points. But that was the team’s largest cushion of the first half before poor shooting began to plague the Boilermakers.
Edey led all scorers with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds before the break. But the rest of the team combined to go 3-of-22 from the field in the opening period and only managed two made 3-pointers on 14 attempts.
As Purdue struggled outside the paint and failed to score for nearly four minutes, Davidson mounted a 13-3 run to take its first lead of the game with 7:44 left before halftime. The Wildcats, led by Foster Loyer, shot 40.7% from the field and had seven players score in the first half.
The senior guard ended the contest with 11 points and 10 assists. He was one of two players for Davidson to score in double figures, joined by redshirt junior forward Sam Mennenga, who led the team with 14.
The Boilermakers went into the locker room with a narrow 28-27 lead but found a spark in the second half from sophomore forward Caleb Furst. In the first four minutes of the period, he scored 10 of their 11 points after being held scoreless in the first half.
"When I play, my main focus is always just to play with joy," Furst said. "At halftime, that was what I focused on, just go out there and have fun. We get to play the game we love, and it doesn't get much better than that.
"As a team, we were able to kind of get a run going. We always try to really emphasize the first five minutes of the second half, and so I think we were able to successfully go out there and get a good start to the half."
Furst finished the game with 12 points and 13 rebounds, including a team-high eight boards on the offensive end of the court. It was just his second double-double of the season.
"The biggest thing for them offensively to start that second half was Caleb Furst hit the glass," Davidson coach Matt McKillop said. "Former Mr. Basketball, I mean he's really, really good. You watch Zach Edey play and forget they have unbelievably talented players at every single position.
"I think the way he attacked the offensive glass what really what put us on our heels to start the second half. We did such a good job trying to contain Edey on the glass, but now we have to worry about a 6-foot-10 athlete running to the rim too."
However, Purdue never managed a double-digit lead throughout the entirety of the contest, as it shot 32.8% from the floor. Davidson cut its deficit down to one point in the second half but was unable to recapture a lead. The Wildcats struggled with foul trouble, sending the Boilermakers to the line for 30 free throws after halftime.
Purdue made just two jump shots in the final eight minutes of play but kept its lead by sinking 24 of its free throw attempts in the final period. Edey made his only shot from the field in the second half while finishing 11-of-15 from the line.
"As a team, we have so much trust in each other," Edey said. "Everyone on this team can shoot. There's really no one on this team where they take a shot or a 3 and you're like 'man, we could've got a better one.'
"I have so much trust in each and every one of my teammates. So if they're not falling, no one is going to get on each other, no one is getting mad at each other."
Loyer and fellow freshman guard Braden Smith each scored in double figures, combining for 24 points while shooting 14-of-16 on their free throws. Smith also registered a season-high 12 rebounds to capture the first double-double of his career.
In back-to-back games, the Boilermakers had to grind out a tough victory because shots simply weren’t falling through the basket. The team returns to Mackey Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 21, against New Orleans for its penultimate nonconference matchup of the season.
"If we're not going to be able to make a shot, why should they change in what they do?" Painter said. "No different than what Nebraska did to us. We were up with 14 minutes to go against them, and then all of a sudden we went cold.
"People aren't going to change, they're going to make us prove some things. I thought we had some resolve tonight. I thought we hung in there and did some other things besides shoot the basketball well that helped us win the game."
You can keep up to date on everything at Boilermakers Country by liking and following our Facebook page: Purdue Boilermakers on Sports Illustrated/FanNation.
You can also follow D.J. Fezler at @DJFezler on Twitter.
D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.