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Purdue hangs on vs. High Point to live to see another day

On3 imageby:Brian Neubert•about 5 hours•

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Purdue's Braden Smith
Purdue's Braden Smith (Chad Krockover)

PROVIDENCE — Behind 21 points from Trey Kaufman-Renn, 20 from Braden Smith and an inspired rebounding effort, Purdue survived and advanced, as they say, beating High Point 75-63 Thursday afternoon in Providence to open Midwest Regional play.

Smith’s three-pointer with 4:28 to play after multiple Purdue offensive rebounds renewed a 10-point Purdue halftime lead amidst a flurry from the Panthers. Prior, Kaufman-Renn’s fall-away jumper to beat a shot clock with under seven minutes left knocked High Point out of their last single-possession opportunity.

It was not the sort of shot Purdue’s leading scorer has come to be known for, but one he says he works on “all the time.”

“It’s the first thing I do when I step on the floor in warmup,” he said, “so I’m glad my hard work’s paying off.

PDF: Purdue-High Point stats

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Camden Heide played one of his best games of the year, with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Offensive rebounding was the game, as Purdue scored 20 second-chance points off 19 offensive rebounds, including Will Berg‘s putback at the halftime buzzer that made it 35-25 at the break.

Two of the Boilermakers’ biggest plays in the first half resulted from second-chance points. Myles Colvin‘s rebound and dunk ignited the crowd, and Heide delivered a similar play, rebounding Colvin’s miss and throwing down a slam dunk to give Purdue a 10-point advantage.

Led by Colvin and Heide, the bench totaled 22 points and 22 rebounds.

The Panthers made a push in the second half, pulling within 59-56 with 7:47 to play. But the Boilermakers took off, keyed by Kaufman-Renn and Smith, and a stretch of defensive stops. The pair combined for nine points as Purdue outscored High Point 12-2 during the next six minutes to open up a 13-point lead.

D’Maurian Williams had 12 points, and Trae Benham added 11 for the Panthers, who saw their 14-game winning streak snapped.

“We rebounded well but our ability to (guard) the basketball was much better,” Matt Painter said. “We’ve been inconsistent in that area this more.”

The Boilermakers picked up their shooting after halftime, hitting 52.3 percent from the field.

Purdue outrebounded High Point 45-24 and wound up with 20 second-chance points off 19 offensive rebounds.

“It’s the difference in the game,” Kaufman-Renn said. “That’s what won us the game. I think we have done a better job lately on rebounding, put more of an emphasis on it from a player standpoint and we’ve got to keep that up if we want to keep winning.”

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