Phil Knight Legacy: No. 24 Purdue Takes Down West Virginia 80-68
PORTLAND, Ore. — In its first test away from Mackey Arena, No. 24 Purdue basketball overcame 18 turnovers to defeat West Virginia 80-68 on Thursday night during the quarterfinals of the 2022 Phil Knight Legacy invitational tournament.
The Boilermakers — led by 24 points and 12 rebounds from junior center Zach Edey — made eight of its 17 shots from the 3-point line and knocked down 24-of-28 free throws. Matched mainly against 6-foot-10 senior forward Jimmy Bell Jr. of the Mountaineers, Edey was 7-of-12 from the field but was nearly perfect from the foul line, going 10-for-12.
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— Purdue On BTN (@PurdueOnBTN) November 25, 2022
Purdue bolted to an early lead to start the game, scoring the first nine points before West Virginia could get a shot to fall. A 6-0 run would later give the Boilermakers a 33-22 lead with 6:18 left to play in the first half, and they carried a double-digit lead into halftime.
The team shot 56% from the floor in the opening period and went 10-for-10 from the foul line to go along with five 3-pointers. Junior forward Mason Gillis, who entered the matchup without a basket in Purdue’s last two games, drilled a pair of deep shots before the break.
Gillis corralled a baseline pass from junior guard Ethan Morton in the right corner and nailed a 3-pointer to put the Boilermakers ahead 43-32 at halftime. He notched eight points in the first half on 3-of-4 shooting, while Edey went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to lead all scorers with 12 points.
Senior guard Joe Toussaint — a transfer from Iowa — led West Virginia with 10 points before the start of the second half, but the Mountaineers went 1-of-10 from the floor near the end of the first period before making two of their last three.
However, Purdue was subject to a slow start in the second half, missing its first seven shots coming out of the locker room. But West Virginia’s fouls piled on quickly, and the Boilermakers entered the bonus with 14:28 still to play in the game.
The Mountaineers were called for 23 fouls but still managed to claw into a double-digit deficit and cut the lead to four with 5:30 on the clock thanks to a 3-pointer by fifth-year senior guard Kedrian Johnson. He finished with 11 points, one of three West Virginia players to score in double figures. Toussaint ended with 16 while fifth-year senior guard Erik Stevenson paced the team with 17 points.
But after bringing the score to within two baskets, a 3-pointer by freshman point guard Braden Smith ignited Purdue on an 8-0 run to retake control of the contest. The Boilermakers had 10 players see at least 13 minutes on the floor, and nine registered a bucket. Gillis finished with 14 points and Morton registered a team-high nine assists.
The team never trailed and led by as many as 14 points in the second half, and it will move on to play the winner of a matchup between No. 6 Gonzaga and Portland State that tips off Friday morning.
Related Stories on Purdue Basketball
- No. 24 Purdue, West Virginia Live Blog: No. 24 Purdue basketball hit the road for a matchup with West Virginia in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament. Recap some of the action from our live blog. CLICK HERE.
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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.