Second-half surge lifts No. 8 Purdue past Maryland

They cleaned up the turnovers.

They battle hard on the boards.

And the Big 3 – Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn – did what they do best.

The trio helped No. 8 Purdue erase Thursday’s disappointing defeat at Penn State with a strong second half as the Boilermakers outlasted Maryland 83-78 inside Mackey Arena.

The group scored 39 of Purdue’s 51 points in the second half to overcome a five-point halftime deficit. Camden Heide joined the close-out party with a corner 3-pointer that extended the margin to 75-67 with 2:43 to play.

Smith finished with 24 points and 10 assists and Kaufman-Renn added 21 points and eight rebounds. Loyer had 12 for Purdue, which is 1-1 in Big Ten play for the seventh time in the last nine seasons. Heide scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half.

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It was quite the contrast from the first half, where the Boilermakers shot just 31.7% and were getting crushed on the boards.

After struggling from the field, Smith, Loyer and Kaufman-Renn, found their shooting stroke simultaneously.

The trio went 5-for-5 during a four-minute stretch, with Smith and Loyer each draining a pair of 3-pointers and Kaufman-Renn converting a three-point play. A seven-point deficit early in the second half had turned into a 46-42 lead at the 15:41 mark.

But the Terrapins didn’t wilt.

They made five of their next seven shots, led by big man Derik Queen, whose versatility playing inside and outside gave Purdue problems. The 6-foot-10 Queen scored six of Maryland’s next 11 points.

And Queen wasn’t done tormenting the Boilermakers.

The freshman sparked an 8-0 run with a pair of 3-pointers, his first of this season. Queen was 0 of 11 from beyond the arc before hitting his first with 9:57 to play.

He connected again, and DeShawn Harris-Smith’s layup pushed the advantage to 62-57 with 8:25 left, forcing Matt Painter to use a timeout.

While Queen excelled on the offensive end, he couldn’t contain Kaufman-Renn. The junior scored 10 straight points – and 12 of 16 during the one stretch – for the Boilermakers, who seized control and didn’t look back.

Queen finished with 26 points, hitting 11 of 18 field goals and pulling down 12 rebounds.

SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE

Smith called what transpired in the second half Purdue’s “everyday offense.” Hard to argue with the simplicity.

It’s true. It’s basic basketball, and when Smith and Kaufman-Renn are on the same page, opponents struggle to defend the pick-and-roll.

“If come off a ball screen and I have my shot, have it,” Smith said. “If they over-commit to me, I’m going to hit Trey on that. He’s going to make that read or kick it out to three 40%-3-point shooters or make that floater he makes all the time. We trust him.”

It worked to near perfection when Kaufman-Renn scored 10 straight points for the Boilermakers, who didn’t let the Terrapins run away and hide. It worked throughout the second half as Kaufman-Renn put Julian Reese and Queen in foul trouble. Reese fouled out, and Kaufman-Renn drew six fouls.

For Kaufman-Renn, it was an opportunity to face actual size in the Big Ten.

“Queen is a good player, Reese has been a good player for a while in the Big Ten,” Kaufman-Renn said. “It was cool to battle against some really good big guys.”

Kaufman had another solid game, scoring 15 points in the second half, but Smith said it should’ve been better.  

“He missed some bunnies he normally makes,” Smith said. “He should’ve had 40. That’s the crazy thing.”

SHOOTING RECOVERY

Since Purdue committed eight turnovers—compared to 24 against the Nittany Lions—the team’s poor shooting performance in the first half didn’t frustrate coach Matt Painter’s team.

“We live with those,” Smith said. “Coach Painter says it all the time – take good shots, and don’t get mad about missing them. They’re good shots, and they’re going to go in. He’s a big believer in playing the percentages. It showed in the second half, we were finally able to  get a couple of shots.”

The Boilermakers made 61.3% from the field after halftime, buoyed by 24 points in the paint and scoring 1.529 points per possession against a Terrapins defense, which was giving up 61.1 points through the first nine games.

Maryland had allowed two teams—Marquette and Villanova—to score more than 70. The Boilermakers also shot 48.5% for the game against a defense yielding 38.5% from the field.

“In the first half, we did some really good things offensively, but we didn’t make shots,” Painter said. “It comes off that you’re struggling when, in reality, you’re doing some good things.

“Just proud of our guys for hanging in there, and obviously, it helps our morale when we make shots. I think you saw a lot of good execution on our end but more shot-making in the second half. Anytime you’re making shots, you’ve got a better chance because you’re setting your defense.”

BETTER ON THE BOARDS

Maryland controlled the rebounding in the first 20 minutes, holding a 25-16 advantage. Eight were on the offensive end, and the Terrapins scored seven second-chance points to maintain their cushion.

It’s happened before, but the Boilermakers were able to flip the rebounding numbers after halftime. Purdue finished +6 in the second half, with Loyer pulling down five. Loyer and Myles Colvin contributed seven rebounds in the victory.

But Maryland only had three offensive rebounds in the final 20 minutes.

“We were a lot better defensively, and when you stay out of rotations and stick big guys with big guys and guards with guards, the rebounding responsibilities are a little bit better,” Kaufman-Renn said. “We just got more. I don’t know if there’s always a reason for why it is.”