Source: Justin Casterline / Getty
[West Lafayette, IN]- The #3 Purdue Boilermakers were back to their winning ways on Thursday night.
The Boilermakers took down Big Ten foe Rutgers 96-68 in Mackey Arena. Purdue started the game off as they have this season, going on a 4-0 run through the first 1:35 of play. Zach Edey, assisted by Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith scored during the run. Rutgers would not see a single lead in the game. The closest Scarlett Knights would come within Purdue’s lead was one with 11:16 to go in the first half. Purdue would bounce back from a low scoring first half Sunday with fifty-two points Thursday.
In the second half, Purdue again went on a run, going 6-0 through two minutes and twenty seconds of play. Caleb Furst would give Purdue their largest lead, 81-45, with 8:24 remaining in the game. Purdue would hold Rutgers to a 5-0 run in the second half, but no more than that throughout the game. The Boilermakers notched the ninety plus mark in style, with Camden Heide’s dunk, leading to a 91-59 lead. Myles Colvin scored the final two points for Purdue with fifty-five seconds remaining.
One of the biggest statistics in recent games were the early foul numbers for Zach Edey. Against Ohio State, Edey had two early fouls, which led him to taking a seat on the Purdue bench. Thursday night, Edey had just one foul in the entire first half, going nearly eighteen minutes without one. That would be Edey’s only foul of the night. He was the best shooter for Purdue Thursday, going seven of eight from the field and hitting all eleven of his free throws.
Defensively, Purdue was strong. No Scarlett Knight scored more than twelve and only two players were in double figures. Rutgers was held to a 42.6% field goal percentage, 38.5% from the three line, and hit 85% of their free throws. Purdue also forced eleven turnovers.
For the offense. Purdue had four players in double figures. Edey led the way with 25 points, followed by Camden Heide (18), Lance Jones (17), and Braden Smith (13). Purdue’s bench in total would accumulate 37 points. Edey would not notch a double-double, only having seven rebounds. This ended a streak of ten games going back to the 88-72 loss to Nebraska on January 9th.
As a team, Purdue shot 58.9% from the field, hit 52.2% beyond the arch, and converted 90% of their free throws. The Boilermakers hauled in thirty-five rebounds to Rutgers’ twenty-two, had double the assists with twenty-two, and only committed twelve fouls.
The Boilermakers new win streak will look to extend against Michigan on Sunday. Tip-off from Ann Arbor is at 2:00 PM Eastern.
