No. 14 Purdue pulls away down the stretch, holds off Texas A&M Corpus Christi

The final 10 minutes of Monday’s first half fit right into the celebration mode of the night.

Purdue raised last season’s Final Four banner before tip-off and lifted the curtain on the 2024-25 campaign, and the mix of Myles Colvin’s 3-pointers, C.J. Cox’s hustle on defense, and Braden Smith’s floor game kept the party going.

However, turnovers, missed free throws, and an undersized Texas A&M Corpus Christi team scoring at will in the paint put a bit of damper on the festivities.

In the end, the 14^th-ranked Boilermakers had to work for their 90-73 season-opening victory over the Islanders, the program’s 36^th consecutive regular-season non-conference win.

More: Analysis | Wrap Video | Stat Blast | Gallery | Pod | Final Thoughts

After scoring 32 points in the final 10:41 to end the first half and holding a 16-point lead, it was a struggle to put away the Islanders. The 3-pointers that went down in the first 20 minutes banged off the rim, and the first-half turnover problems carried over into the second half.

And the Islanders lived in the paint, totaling 46 points in the lane to punch back against the Boilermakers, who didn’t feel comfortable with the victory until the final minutes.

The Islanders closed within 70-67 on Gerry Clark’s 3-pointers, but freshman Daniel Jacobsen answered with a dunk off an assist from Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn scored a layup, extending the lead to 74-67.

The experience of Loyer, Smith, and Kaufman-Renn clearly played a role in closing out the program’s 12th straight season opener.

“There’s going to be bumps. It’s going to be hard,” Loyer said. “We didn’t win back-to-back Big Ten championships just cruising down the road. It was tough. We fought every day. We got better as the season went on and pushed each other.”

Kaufman-Renn’s physicality overwhelmed the Islanders throughout the second half, keeping the Boilermakers in the lead. He scored eight of his 15 points after halftime, going 4 of 4 from the field.

Loyer led Purdue with 21 points and seemingly answered the Islanders in the second half, either with a jumper or at the free-throw line. Smith finished with 12 points and 15 assists, and Jacobsen added 13 points and seven rebounds.

Colvin scored 14 points on the strength of four 3-pointers and a fastbreak dunk as Purdue broke a 17-17 tie and opened up a 49-33 halftime lead.

STRONG FINISHES

The Boilermakers created enough separation from the Islanders during two stretches.

The final 10 minutes before halftime.

The last six minutes of the game.

Combined, Purdue outscored the Islanders 52-22 during those 16 minutes. Otherwise, the remaining 24 minutes were a mix of turnovers – more unforced than forced – the inability to contain dribble penetration and the lack of a scoring punch around the rim.

“I thought we had some casual basketball out there in the second half,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “Just because you’re first-team all-league or third-team all-league or you played in the Final Four, that doesn’t matter.

“It’s a new season, and people are coming after you, and you’ve got to be the people coming after them. I thought our opponent was much better than us in the second half.”

While Smith collected 15 assists, his focus was on his six turnovers. Kaufman-Renn had four turnovers, and that’s 10 between two of the team’s top players. Those numbers will get the Boilermakers beat in the Big Ten.

“I don’t think it was our young guys at all,” Smith said. “I had six of them. That’s my job. I have to be better at that. I was just careless with it. You can say 15 assists, but I’m looking at the six turnovers. I’ve got to do better with that.”

And Purdue must show improvement defensively and that will take time with this group, which has plenty of offensive skill and needs to shift their priorities to the other end of the floor.

The Islanders scored more than half of their points in the paint. Jacobsen had three blocked shots, but it’s different without Zach Edey protecting the rim, and opponents are willing to challenge Purdue inside.  

“It’s something we’ve harped on because we know we’re a very strong offensive team,” Loyer said. “We have a lot of talent. It’s putting things together, doing our job, and talking more.

“We have a quiet group of guys, but you can’t be quiet on the basketball court. We messed up a lot of simple things in the first half and in the second half, it was just keeping them in front of us. They got in the paint way too much.”

COLVIN SOARS

Colvin staged his personal 3-point shooting contest in the first half.

From the top of the key. From the left corner. From the wing. The crowd embraced Colvin more with each successful 3-pointer. He added a fastbreak dunk, capping the impressive run going into halftime.

“This team has so much talent,” said Loyer, who was 3 of 5 from 3-point range.  “Up and down the board, you see it. A guy like Myles can go out there and make four 3s in a half. It’s what this roster has.”

Colvin scored 14 points, all in the first half, in 17 minutes off the bench and put together a highlight reel for everyone to view. His teammates fed off his success, making 9 of 13 from beyond the arc in the first half, but the Boilermakers started 0 of 8 from 3-point range after halftime and finished 2 of 13, giving the Islanders an opening to cut into the lead.

“They were wide open and missed them,” Painter said. “Myles played well and shot well for us.”

BANNER TIME

As the 2024 Final Four banner was unveiled, Painter didn’t watch the brief ceremony but understood the significance of the moment.  

“It’s cool to be able to see that banner go up there,” he said. “When you walk in this gym a lot, we’ve had Big Ten banners but haven’t for a long time been able to go to a Final Four.

“It’s cool for our players. A lot of sacrifice and hard work. A lot of guys that helped us get there are still playing for us.”