WATCH: Purdue Players React to 79-71 Loss to Indiana at Mackey Arena
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue basketball led for most of the first half against in-state rival Indiana, but could never push its lead to double digits on Saturday night at Mackey Arena.
The No. 5-ranked Boilermakers shot just 34.9 percent from the field in a 79-71 loss to the Hoosiers, who entered the game as the No. 17 team in the country. Indiana was 50.8 percent from the floor and went 7 for 15 from the 3-point line.
"They made shots and we didn't," Purdue junior center Zach Edey said.
After scoring the first six points of the game, Purdue only led by as many as seven points before halftime and took a 38-34 advantage into the locker room thanks to a late 3-pointer by junior guard Brandon Newman.
Indiana freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino was masterful throughout the contest, scoring 23 of his game-high 35 points in the first half. He was 14-of-24 shooting and made 6-of-7 attempts from the foul line while also coming down with seven rebounds.
"Everybody in this room knows he's a good player," Newman said. "He gets to his spots really well and plays at his own pace. You gotta make it tough for him every possession. No free looks, you gotta make him work for everything."
That four-point lead quickly vanished in the opening minutes after halftime, as the Hoosiers mounted a 17-2 run to go ahead. The Boilermakers cut their deficit to as little as five points but never closer.
“I think they just came out with more energy than us for that first five minutes of the second half, which is something that we try to harp onto ourselves a lot," Purdue sophomore forward Caleb Furst said. "And we didn't do it today.”
Indiana went 18 for 31 after halftime to put Purdue away despite being outrebounded by a 46-30 margin and allowing the Boilermakers to pile on 33 attempts from the free-throw line.
Edey led the team with 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting and going 10-of-14 from the foul line to go along with 16 rebounds. Purdue fell to 24-5 and 13-5 in Big Ten play with the loss.
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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.