Hot shooting helps No. 18 Purdue bury Rutgers

Purdue had its own 3-point shooting contest on Tuesday night, and if a red, white, and blue money ball had been available, the Boilermakers might have scored 150 points.

Instead, the 18^th-ranked Boilermakers didn’t need that many points but torched Rutgers by hitting 18 3-pointers to post a 100-71 victory to remain in the hunt for a top-four seed in the Big Ten tournament.

Purdue looks to wrap up another double-bye in the event with a win on Friday at Illinois.

It was fitting that Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith each finished with 23 points and seven 3-pointers. It marked the first time in program history that two Boilermakers made seven 3-pointers in a game.

Trey Kaufman-Renn dominated inside against a Rutgers defense that could not stop anything Purdue was running on this night. Kaufman-Renn finished 16 points and eight rebounds.

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With 9:44 left in the first half, this was a one-point game, with the Boilermakers holding a 35-34 lead.

During the next 14 minutes of game action, Purdue buried the Scarlet Knights with a 43-14 run and raised the decibel level inside Mackey Arena with each additional 3-pointer.

A perfect way to end the home portion of the schedule and send lone senior Caleb Furst out with a victory.

The first half was highlighted by an eight-point possession, a four-point play, and a pair of traditional three-point plays, along with Purdue’s torrid shooting.

Here’s how the Scarlet Knights scored eight points on one trip.

Tyson Acuff drained a 3-pointer, and Kaufman-Renn was called for a Flagrant 1 foul after hitting Lathan Sommerville on the head with an elbow. Sommerville made two free throws, and Dylan Harper connected on a 3-pointer. That whole sequence took four seconds of game time.

But freshman Gicarri Harris converted a four-point play after being fouled on a 3-point shot.

“I saw him go under, so we did a re-screen,” said Harris, who finished with 11 points. “I came off the shot with confidence and I shot it and it went in. Everybody got hyped, and that gave us a little bit of momentum.”

The eight-point lead, though, evaporated under a barrage of four 3-pointers from Smith during a stretch in just over two minutes. From there, the Boilermakers created separation with more pinpoint shooting, transition baskets, and tighter defense.

Purdue led 50-41 at halftime and the 3-point shooting continued to start the second half. Smith and Loyer each hit one and an 8-0 run and increased the margin to 58-41.

Rutgers committed nine turnovers, but the Boilermakers pounced by scoring 20 points off those mistakes, including four 3-pointers.

Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, two projected NBA lottery picks, finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively, to lead the Scarlet Knights.

“STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE”

Furst’s teammates sat on the bench, dressed in the same black T-shirts worn by the Paint Crew on Tuesday, watched his Senior Day video, and listened to his speech.

Both elements summed up the program’s all-time winningest player superbly. He has 113 victories heading into Friday’s matchup at Illinois.

“You saw in that video just who he is, and it goes way beyond that,” Smith said. “Off the court, he’s just coming out every single day with a smile, always working hard, and he sets the tone. He doesn’t have to go out there and score 20 for us to win.  He does all the small things for us, and I think that’s huge.”

He didn’t score 20 against the Scarlet Knights, but his dunk off an alley-oop pass from Smith on a fastbreak opportunity brought the Mackey Arena faithful to its collective feet. But Furst’s significant contributions were on the boards again.

He grabbed nine rebounds, including six on the offensive end, to help the Boilermakers overcome another first-half rebounding deficit. He pulled down eight of Purdue’s 28 rebounds after halftime.

This has been Furst’s role throughout his career. Rebounds, active defense, and keeping the offense operating with sharp passes. His playing time has fluctuated, but he’s been ready and prepared at each opportunity.

Purdue coach Matt Painter said Furst’s time with the program was always about the big picture.

“It gets looked at as a standard of excellence on and off the court and being defined through his adversity because he had a lot of success, but there’s some personal adversity,” Painter said. “You don’t play as much as you did earlier. He didn’t play as much, and for him to end his career by being part of that spark when we went to Minnesota and playing better really defines him. But it also defines him and how he handled himself when things didn’t go his way.”

EFFICIENT OFFENSE

Loyer and Smith combined to attempt 25 field goals from 3-point range.

Painter liked 24 of those shots. The one was Smith’s 3-point attempt from the logo in the first half.

Painter called the offense “efficient,” and a school-record 1.61 points per possession defines efficiency. The Boilermakers shot 69.2% in the first half and 56.% for the game. Loyer and Smith led the charge, but Kaufman-Renn did his business inside, making 8 of 10 from the field, and the ball movement from start to finish was crisp.

“That’s what you want to do,” Painter said. “You’re gonna have to ride your defense and rebounding at some point. We get into those games and grind it. But if you’re making shots and setting your defense, now you’re really giving yourself that advantage because now they’re not stealing points in transition.”

Loyer and Smith fed off each other, piggybacking 3-pointers in a game of H-O-R-S-E. That happened twice early in the second half when Loyer and Smith went back-to-back, and about a minute later, Smith connected again, followed by Loyer.

“Usually, you don’t get to take 12 and 13 3s from two of your better shooters,” Loyer said. “They’re still not easy to make. It’s still a lot of work we put in to get there. Braden was taking good ones; we were taking good ones. I didn’t think anybody really forced any. When you can get 12 and 13 3s, you gotta take them and make them.”

“I WAS STUNNED”

Just over a minute into Tuesday’s game, Myles Colvin removed his warm-up shirt and went to the scorer’s table.

The early substitution seemed odd since freshman C.J. Cox wasn’t in foul trouble or injured. Thirty-three seconds later, Colvin was back on the bench.

“Myles subbed himself in the game,” Painter said. “If you can pull that off, I thought it was beautiful. Think about that – you can just sub yourself in. That wouldn’t be chaotic, would it.”

In his short time on the floor, Colvin attempted a 3-pointer.

Painter was playing detective, trying to determine why Colvin put himself into the game. He polled his assistant coaches and even asked Cox if he was hurt.

“I sat there stunned,” Painter said.

Colvin told Painter he heard the veteran coach call his name.  

“I’m like, ‘No.’ It was a helluva try. He got a shot up, too. I love it,” Painter said. “If you can finagle it and get yourself in there … what can you do when you check in? I didn’t have permission from the coach. You don’t have to take a note to the scorer’s table.”