LIVE BLOG: Follow Along As Purdue Plays High Point in NCAA Basketball Tournament
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — March Madness is finally upon us. No. 4 seed Purdue will play No. 13 seed High Point in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday, March 20 with tipoff scheduled for 12:40 p.m. ET.
The Boilermakers are hoping to make another deep March Madness run after reaching the National Championship Game a season ago. High Point, on the other hand, is looking to make some noise in its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
Follow along throughout Thursday's game as we provide live updates from Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence.
*All times will be ET.
2:51 PM — FINAL: Purdue 75, High Point 63. Trey Kaufman-Renn scores 21 points and grabs 8 rebounds. Braden Smith had 20 points and 6 assists and Camden Heide finishes the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Boilermakers will advance to the Round of 32 to play either No. 5 seed Clemson or No. 12 McNeese State on Saturday.
2:48 PM — Camden Heide gets a dunk and is up to 11 points and 10 rebounds for the game. After his slam, High Point gets a three-pointer from D'Maurian Williams to make the score 73-63. Timeout High Point with 38.3 seconds left. That was the final timeout for the Panthers.
2:45 PM — Now leading by 11 points, Purdue can ice this one away at the free throw line. There's just 1:06 to play in this game.
2:42 PM — Braden Smith gets caught in a High Point trap and Purdue takes a timeout with 1:35 to play.
2:37 PM — Timeout on the floor. Purdue leads High Point 67-58 with 2:55 left. Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith have been sensational, combining for 39 points, but Camden Heide has 9 points and 10 rebounds. He's provided a huge spark for the Boilermakers throughout this game.
2:35 PM — High Point's Kimani Hamilton was ejected from the game after pushing Camden Heide to the floor on the previous play. Heide knocks down one of those free throws and Purdue gets the ball.
3:58 PM — Braden Smith hits a big-time three-pointer that gave Purdue a 66-56 lead, but High Point was able to get a basket form Kezza Giffa to make the score 66-58 at the under-4 media timeout. There's 3:58 to play in this one.
2:27 PM — With time expiring on the shot clock, Trey Kaufman-Renn hits a fadeaway jumper to give Purdue a 61-56 advantage. The Boilers get a stop defensively and Braden Smith gets a layup. It's 63-56. Huge buckets.
2:24 PM — High Point continues to hang around. It's 59-53 Purdue at the 8-minute mark of the second half.
2:21 PM — Purdue and High Point are trading baskets. Boilermakers center Will Berg was able to tap out an offensive rebound that was saved and Gicarri Harris knocked down a triple. High Point responded with a bucket from Trae Benham to cut the lead back down to 6 points. He has 11 points for the Panthers.
2:16 PM — A foul is called on Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Renn, his third personal of the game. Officials are headed to the monitor to review the play. There's 9:29 left to play. The Boilers lead the Panthers 56-48.
2:15 PM — After starting the game just 2-of-6 from the floor, Trey Kaufman-Renn has really found his rhythm. He's made 7 of his last 8 shots.
2:11 PM — Purdue gets back-to-back stops and a Camden Heide triple and a Myles Colvin dunk pushes the lead back to 10 points. Boilers lead 56-46 at the 9:54 mark of the second half. Trey Kaufman-Renn has a game-high 19 points. Braden Smith has 13 points and six assists. Heide is up to 8 points and 7 rebounds.
2:04 PM — Fletcher Loyer gets fouled on his way to the basket, sending him to the free throw line. High Point has now committed seven team fouls and Purdue will be at the stripe the rest of this game. Loyer knocks down both to push Purdue's lead to 47-39.
2:01 PM — High Point just picked up its 6th team foul of the second half with 15:11 to play. Purdue has not committed one yet. Boilers will get free throws the rest of the way.
1:57 PM — Purdue leads High Point 43-39. The Panthers have done a good job cutting into this lead. They've hit each of their last four shots. Kezza Giffa, Trae Benham, Juslin Bodo Bodo and Abdoulaye Thiam all have 6 points. D'Maurian Williams still leads the way with 7 points. 15:55 to play. First media timeout of the second half.
1:55 PM — High Point has cut into this Purdue lead slightly, with the score now 43-36 with 16:33 left in the second half.
1:29 PM — HALFTIME: Purdue leads High Point 37-27. Will Berg gets a bucket to close out the half, his fourth point of the game. The Boilermakers were led by Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, both scoring 10 points in the half. Purdue also dominated the glass beating High Point 28-12 in the rebounding column.
1:20 PM — Myles Colvin and Camden Heide have just had two of the biggest plays of the game, back-to-back putback dunks to give the Boilermakers a 35-25 advantage with 1:53 to play. Purdue's work on the offensive glass has been outstanding, scoring 12 points on 11 offensive boards.
1:16 PM — At the under-4 media timeout, Purdue leads High Point 31-25. Trey Kaufman-Renn is beginning to take this game over. He's now 5-of-9 from the floor and has 10 points. Braden Smith also has 10 points for the Boilers. For High Point, D'Maurian Williams leads the way with 7 points and Abdouyale Thiam has 6.
1:13 PM — Fletcher Loyer hits a tough fadeaway jumper with a hand in his face for his first points of the game. Trey Kaufman-Renn follows it with a bucket of his own. Purdue has now hit its last three field goals and leads 29-23.
1:06 PM — Braden Smith gets fouled while taking a shot and will get two free throws. We're at the under-8 media timeout and the Boilermakers own a 22-21 lead on the Panthers. Purdue's inability to rebound has been an issue all season, but it's the primary reason why it has a lead right now. Boilers are outrebounding High Point 18-8, which includes 9 offensive boards. High Point is shooting 5-of-12 from three-point range.
1:04 PM — With 9:09 left in the first half, Trey Kaufman-Renn picks up his second personal foul while chasing down a rebound. That's a significant development in this one. Will Berg checks into the game for Kaufman-Renn.
1:00 PM — Camden Heide knocks down a three-pointer out of the timeout to give Purdue a 4-point lead, it's biggest of the game so far.
12:57 PM — We're at the 11:10 mark of the first half and have reached the under-12 media timeout. Purdue owns a 15-14 advantage. The Boilermakers had a chance to extend the lead but missed four shots in a row. They've done a good job on the glass, but are struggling to find the bottom of the bucket. Both Purdue and High Point are shooting under 40% to start this one.
12:55 PM — Trey Kaufman-Renn is struggling around the rim early in this one. He's made just 2-of-6 attempts from the floor, most coming from close range. Still, Purdue owns a 13-11 advantage with over 12 minutes left in the first half.
12:47 PM — At the first media timeout Purdue leads High Point 9-8. Braden Smith leads the way with 5 early points for the Boilermakers. Purdue's defense did a good job on its last two possessions before the break, forcing the Panthers into a shot clock violation and a travel.
12:41 PM — High Point's Kezza Giffa buries a three-pointer to start the game. Braden Smith answers for Purdue and we start off 3-3.
12:36 PM — The starting lineups are introduced for today's matchup between No. 4 seed Purdue and No. 13 seed High Point.
12:16 PM — The jumbotron at Amica Mutual Pavilion shows legendary Purdue coach Gene Keady, who gets a loud applause from the Boilermaker fans in attendance.
11:51 AM — The starting lineups have been released for both teams. Purdue: CJ Cox (Fr.), Caleb Furst (Sr.), Fletcher Loyer (Jr.), Braden Smith (Jr.), Trey Kaufman-Renn (Jr.). High Point: Kezza Giffa (Sr.), Chase Johnston (Sr.), D'Maurian Williams (Sr.), Kimani Hamilton (Jr.), Juslin Bodo Bodo (So.).
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