MENS BASKETBALL
Purdue 100, Rutgers 71
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith scored 23 points apiece to lead No. 18 Purdue past Rutgers 100-71 on Tuesday night.
Loyer and Smith each made seven 3-pointers as the Boilermakers went 18 of 36 from beyond the arc. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 16 points for Purdue (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten), which has won two in a row following a four-game skid.
Dylan Harper scored 13 points and Ace Bailey had 12 for the Scarlet Knights (14-16, 7-12).
Ten players scored for the Boilermakers.
Purdue shot 56% percent from the field while holding Rutgers to 44%. The Boilermakers also held a 40-26 rebounding edge. Caleb Furst, the lone Purdue senior, led the way with nine rebounds in his final home game and Kaufman-Renn had eight.
The Boilermakers shot 69% in the first half to take a 50-41 lead at halftime. Rutgers shot 47% in the opening period.
THE TAKEAWAY
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights led 27-19 midway through the first half but were unable to slow down Purdue’s 3-point barrage. Purdue also held a 36-24 edge in points in the paint.
Purdue: The Boilermakers got some key contributions from their bench with 11 points from Gicarri Harris and nine from Myles Colvin. Smith picked up his fourth foul with 8:20 left but was able to sit the rest of the way thanks to Purdue’s large lead. He finished with nine assists.
KEY MOMENT
After grabbing a rebound, Smith passed to Furst for an alley-oop dunk off a fast break to make it 42-37 with 3:36 left in the first half. That started a 7-0 run, which included a 3-pointer by Smith and a second-chance driving layup by C.J. Cox.
KEY STAT
Purdue shot 11 of 17 on 3s in the first half to erase an early deficit and grab control.
March 4, 2025