Overtime thriller at Mackey Arena: No. 2 Purdue outlasts Northwestern

Purdue finally kept Northwestern from enjoying another signature moment.

After knocking off the Boilermakers twice when they were ranked No. 1, the Wildcats nearly pulled off another surprise.

But Zach Edey and second-ranked Purdue had other ideas, outlasting Northwestern 105-96 in overtime before another sellout at Mackey Arena.

Wildcats coach Chris Collins was ejected at the end of the game after receiving a technical and Boo Buie also received a technical as Purdue added on four Mason Gillis free throws in the final seconds.

Edey, who scored the first 10 points in overtime – including four dunks – finished with 30 points, including 24 during the second half and overtime. He added 15 rebounds. Fletcher Loyer’s 3-pointer gave Purdue a 96-90 lead and after struggling from the line, the Boilermakers sealed it with free throws.

Purdue missed 14 free throws in the second half and 17 for the game but made 11 of 13 in overtime. Meanwhile, the Wildcats were just 6 of 8 from the line.

How did we get to overtime?

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Ty Berry made three throws with 37.3 seconds to play to give Northwestern an 81-80 lead. Purdue had taken an 80-78 advantage on Zach Edey’s basket, but he missed the and-1 opportunity.

Edey, though, made 1 of 2 free throws with 16.3 seconds on the clock to tie the score.

The Boilermakers appeared to take control late in the first half, outscoring the Wildcats 26-14 during the last 7:46. The halftime lead was nine, but Northwestern quickly cut into the advantage and the team traded punches and 3-pointers the rest of the way.

Tied at 73, Buie launched a 3-pointer over the outstretched arms of Edey to push the lead to three. After Edey missed two free throws, Buie found Brooks Barnhizer for a layup and a five-point lead with 2:37 to play.

But Evanston native Lance Jones drained a 3-pointer, and Edey slammed home Braden Smith‘s missed layup, and the game was tied at 78 with 90 seconds left. Buie had a floater at the buzzer but it came up short.

“Very fortunate to win,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “Boo Buie makes that seven, eight out of 10 times, that flooter. That’s his. He’s not taking a shot that he’s average at. He’s one of the best intermediate shooters in college basketball.”

Smith finished with a career-high 16 assists and Jones totaled 26 points, including five 3-pointers. Gillis had 14 points and was 8 of 8 from the line.

Buie was terrific again, hitting seven 3-pointers en route to 25 points, including 12 in the second half. Berry had 25 points and made six 3-pointers.

“I’D RATHER WIN”

Smith has always had a chip on his shoulder and it’s useless to ask the Westfield graduate if he plays that way each game. Yes, he does, and it’s clear he uses it as motivation.

But maybe Smith was fueled by being left off the Bob Cousy Watch List recognizing the top point guards in the country. Smith didn’t need to hand out 16 assists to just two turnovers in 40 minutes to prove he should’ve been included among the top 10 players.

“That’s over. I’d rather win,” Smith said. “It’s better memories, especially coming back with these guys and knowing all the work we’ve put in and what we’ve been through this year. That’s more important to me than some award.”

Smith’s 16 assists led directly to 40 points and eight of Purdue’s 10 3-pointers. Just think of the assist number if Edey wasn’t fouled, and he converted those passes to dunks.

The 16 assists are the second most by a Purdue player in program history and the most for a Boilermaker in the last 49 years. It’s also the fourth most by a player in the nation this year.

“Great player. I’m a big fan of Braden,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. “You can tell he’s improved from last year. His decision-making is much better. He runs their offense, and he’s good in their pick and rolls, and when you have that big guy running down the middle, it causes a lot of problems.”

Painter was obviously displeased with Smith’s omission from the national list.

“He’s fabulous,” Painter said. “He’s got great vision. He sees things. He sets guys up for 3s and he understands what we’re doing and what we’re looking for. We want to look for Zach as much as we can but when they take that away, it opens up other things.

“Bob Knight said basketball is watched by millions but understood by few. If you think he’s the 11th-best point guard in the country, I hope you get a job in the Big Ten. At least, we’ll get two wins.”

And then Painter paused, smiled and added: “2-18 would be great.”

FREE THROW STRUGGLES

If the Boilermakers had just hit their season percentage in Big Ten games (74.0), overtime wouldn’t have been necessary.

Purdue finished 29 of 46 from the line but connected on 11 of 13 in overtime to put the game away. The 12 missed free throws in the second half haunted the Boilermakers, who flirted with an unnecessary loss because of what happened at the line.

Edey had his own issues, making just 8 of 17. The senior is shooting 73.8% from the line this season. He also played 41 minutes, drew 14 fouls – three Northwestern players fouled out – and made 11 of 14 field goals, including four dunks in overtime.

“I’m pretty well conditioned but the free throws were off,” Edey said. “I really tried to lock in, and I knew they were big.”

The offensive plan was working. Throw the ball inside to Edey or drive to the basket. The problem – the Boilermakers were getting fouled and going to the line where it wasn’t the best of nights.

“The thing for us was trying to keep our morale up because they made some tough shots, but we did positive things and then we missed free throws,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “What should we run here? Keep doing what you’re doing and keep positive and keep playing.”

The number of free throw attempts drew the ire of Collins, who had to be restrained on the court by his players and played to the crowd walking through the Mackey Arena tunnel on his way to the locker room. Collins also wasn’t happy that his team attempted only eight free throws and none by Buie.

“I’m not going to go into the officiating. We have great officiating,” Collins said. “I just don’t know if I’ve seen a box score like that. I don’t know if you’ve seen a disparity like that in a Big Ten game. Obviously, we’re fouling that much but I feel like we’re aggressive too.

“Boo Buie doesn’t shoot a free throw. That’s kind of crazy but that’s how the game is called.”

But Collins only has himself to blame based on his game plan to mug Edey and the post players at every opportunity. In the first meeting in December, the Boilermakers were 31 of 41 from the line in an overtime loss. Edey has now drawn 29 fouls against the Wildcats this season.

By overtime, the Wildcats were down to their third-string center.

“We did a good job of wearing their team out with foul trouble in regulation and they had tough matchups,” Edey said. “It’s not something they wanted to do but they had to do it.

“That’s how we play – we get teams in foul trouble. We attack the rim hard, and we get rebounds, and in overtime, they were forced to go to some matchups they don’t want to, and we were able to exploit that.”

“BROKEN PLAY”

There were plenty of big shots and moments in this game, but Loyer’s 3-pointer in overtime to stretch the lead to six points ranks pretty high.

Gillis had challenged and blocked Buie’s shot at the rim on a layup attempt and Painter called a timeout. Purdue led 93-90 and needed points to avoid giving the ball back to the Wildcats leading by only one possession.

Loyer called it a “broken play,” but Smith found the sophomore at the top of the key with 39 seconds on the clock.

“Braden attacked the baseline and he’s one of the best I’ve seen knowing where shooters are,” said Loyer, who had 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers. “Along the baseline and jumping in the air – a pass they get mad at him for throwing a lot of times – he’s so talented at it that I trust him to do it.”

“He probably saw two of us – me and Mason – but he lobbed it over the top to me. I got my feet set and the work we put in, it’s for moments like that.”