Quick Wrap: Purdue wins the Maui Invitational, 73–63 against Gonzaga
Gonzaga in the second consecutive season, this time by a score of 73-63. This season, Purdue was the favorite to win the Big Ten championship.
The incoming transfer Lance Jones began the second half by erasing that lead nearly single-handedly on his way to scoring 13 points and grabbing 4 rebounds for his team.
Before redshirt freshman Myles Colvin hit down two big threes late in the game, Purdue was unable to get a three-pointer to go in for the majority of the game.
Despite this, Purdue was able to start off the Maui Invitational wit a victory over Gonzaga. Gonzaga took a lead of five points into the locker room at halftime.
Even though Purdue was having trouble early on, its two superstars, Braden Smith and Zach Edey, accomplished just enough to keep the Boilermakers in the game.
However, Braden Smith provided the engine that drove Purdue’s attack. He displayed composure and complete command of the situation by scoring 13 points on 6 of 8 shooting, handing out 6 assists, while grabbing 4 rebounds.
Zach Edey recorded another double-double that was nothing special, dominating the boards and demonstrating that the Zags still don’t have a solution for him a year later. At the end of the game, he had 25 points plus 14 rebounds.
The Boilermakers (4-0) were behind by a total of nine points at the end of the first half, but they were able to come back and win the game by outscoring the Bulldogs (2-1) in the second half 43-28.
“The beginning of the second half was crucial for us—getting some transition baskets, getting several steals—I thought we had some active palms at that time, and I think that kind in set the tone for us in the second half.”
“The beginning of the second half was crucial for us—getting some transition baskets, getting some steals.”
According to the coach of the Boilermakers, Matt Painter, the other factor that differentiated the two teams was the latter’s inability to make 3-point shots.
Edey, a senior center who stands 7 feet 4 inches tall, had a field goal shooting percentage of 8 for 16 and a free throw shooting percentage of 9 for 10.
In addition, he was responsible for blocking three shots and grabbing 14 rebounds in 33 minutes of action.
Both Lance Jones and Braden Smith contributed 13 points to Purdue’s scoring in the second half, during which the Boilermakers shot 54.5% from the line (18 of 33). In addition, Smith was responsible for five steals.
The beginning of the second half was crucial for us, particularly the beginning when we started getting some transition buckets and some thefts.
At that point, I got the impression that we had some aggressive hands, and I believe that that kind of paved the way for us during the second half of the game.
According to the coach of the Boilermakers, Matt Painter, the other factor that differentiated the two teams was the latter’s inability to make 3-point shots.
A putback dunk by Edey with 14 minutes and 53 seconds remaining in the game gave Purdue the lead for good, giving the Boilermakers of 43-42 advantage over their opponent.
The Bulldogs reacted to an early 6-0 lead held by the Boilermakers by going on a 14-0 run, that was finished off by Hickman via a pull-up jumper around the 14:28 mark of the game.
After being behind by a total of nine points late during the first half, the Boilermakers (4-0) came out strong in the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 43-28.
Edey, a senior center who stands 7 feet 4 inches tall, had a field goal shooting percentage of 8 for 16 and hit 9 of 10 foul shots. In addition to that, he blocked three shots throughout the course of 33 minutes.
However, Gonzaga’s shooters struggled to score, and Purdue’s reliance on Zach Edey during the post helped the Boilermakers to a 73-63 victory in the opening round at the Maui Invitational.
The No. 11 team in the country was defeated by Purdue thanks to a comeback victory in which the Boilermakers overcame a halftime deficit of 35-30 and dominated the later portion the the second half.
The victory sets up a top-10 clash with the seventh-ranked Tennessee Volunteers on Tuesday.