On Rough 3-Point Shooting Night, Purdue Beats Rutgers With Defense
On a night when shots weren't falling from behind the 3-point line, No. 20 Purdue relied heavily on its defensive effort to pick up an important 68-50 road win over Rutgers on Thursday night.
The Boilermakers were ice-cold from long range at Jersey Mike's Arena, making just four-of-24 shots from behind the arc. But they were able to get the job done on the other end of the floor, holding Rutgers to just 32.7% from the floor and forcing 16 turnovers.
Purdue's defense also limited Rutgers freshman star Dylan Harper to six points and six rebounds. He entered the game averaging a team-high 21.1 points per game this season.
Entering the game, coach Matt Painter said the key was to make life difficult for Harper and fellow freshman Ace Bailey. Mission accomplished.
Harper shot just two-of-nine from the floor and Bailey was five-of-15, although he did hit four-of-nine shots from 3-point range. Bailey ended the night as Rutgers' leading scorer with 17 points.
It was a wire-to-wire win for the Boilers, jumping out to an early 10-5 lead and never looking back. Fletcher Loyer joined the 1,000-point club early, knocking down two of his first three shot attempts from the floor.
Purdue led by as many as 11 points in the first half and took a 33-24 advantage in the locker room. Through the first 20 minutes, junior guard Braden Smith had 11 points and seven assists.
Midway through the second quarter, Rutgers made its biggest push of the night. After trailing 46-36, a Jordan Derkack basket and a 3-pointer from Tyson Acuff made the score 46-41. But the Boilers didn't allow that run to last.
Freshman Gicarri Harris knocked down a rare triple, sparking a 9-0 Purdue run, pushing the lead to 14 points with 8:28 to play. The Scarlet Knights were never able to get back within single digits.
Smith ended the game with his third double-double in the last four games, scoring 16 points and dishing out 14 assists. Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 16 and Loyer added 13. Caleb Furst had another solid night, scoring seven points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Although Purdue shot poorly from 3-point range and from the free throw line — making just eight-of-16 from the charity stripe — the Boilers did finish the night shooting 50% from the floor. They also dominated the paint, outscoring Rutgers 38-20.
Winning on the road in the Big Ten is never an easy task. Doing it when you shot 16.7% from 3-point range and 50% from the free throw line is nearly impossible. Yet the Boilermakers were able to secure their fourth straight win, all of which have come by 18 points or more.
The Boilers will try to make it five straight wins on Sunday, hosting Nebraska at Mackey Arena.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
HEIDE WITH ALLEY-OOP: Cam Heide was flying high for an alley-oop pass from Braden Smith in Purdue's Big Ten clash against Rutgers at Jersey Mike's Arena on Thursday. CLICK HERE
FURST DUNKS WITH AUTHORITY: Purdue senior forward Caleb Furst got a big dunk early in Thursday's game vs. Rutgers, throwing down the one-handed slam with authority. CLICK HERE
LOYER GETS 1,000 POINTS: Purdue junior guard Fletcher Loyer became the latest Boilermaker to score 1,000 points in his career. He hit the mark in Thursday's game vs. Rutgers.CLICK HERE
