Rutgers Scores Buzzer-Beater to Hand No. 1 Purdue Basketball its First Loss of the Season
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Purdue basketball’s No. 1 ranking will be short-lived. In their first week at the top spot in national rankings, the Boilermakers suffered their first loss of the season. The team lost to Rutgers 70-68 on Thursday night.
Senior forward Trevion Williams led the team with 21 points and 11 rebounds, including a shot that put Purdue up 68-67 with just over three seconds to play. But senior Ron Harper Jr. launched a 3-pointer from just inside half court that found the bottom of the net as the Scarlet Knights stunned the Boilermakers at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
🚨 RON HARPER AT THE BUZZER!!!!!!!! 🚨
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 10, 2021
RUTGERS WINS!!!!!!!!!@RutgersMBB pic.twitter.com/IGkUjFpUzO
Shots just weren’t falling for Purdue, and it couldn’t find enough offense to put Rutgers away in their first Big Ten road matchup of the season. The Boilermakers hit just seven of their 26 shots from 3-point range.
Rutgers collected its first win over a No. 1 program in school history, and Harper tied a career-high with 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting to lead all scorers while adding 10 rebounds.
Purdue struggled to find its mark from the 3-point line to start the game, shooting just 2 of 11 from deep in the first half. But Williams kept the team from falling into a massive deficit, scoring 12 straight points for the Boilermakers after checking into the game for the first time.
He notched team-highs with 14 points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes of play, but Rutgers went into the locker room with a 36-35 lead thanks to 17 points from Harper. He was 4-for-5 from the 3-point line before the break.
Rutgers assisted on all 12 of its first-half baskets.
In the second half, Purdue was outscored 20-9 in the final eight minutes of play. By the end of the game, the Boilermakers turned the ball over 11 times and shot just 41% from the field. Sophomore Jaden Ivey and Zach Edey were the only other Purdue players to score in double figures, scoring 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Purdue drops to 8-1 on the season and will continue its three-game road trip with a matchup against NC State on Sunday, Dec. 12.
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- PURDUE, RUTGERS LIVE BLOG: No. 1 Purdue was on the road against Rutgers at Jersey Mike's Arena in its first road matchup of the season. The Boilermakers fell to 8-1. 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.