Purdue survives against Marquette to win the Maui Invitational
HONOLULU — Purdue, aspires for more this season than being the kings of November. Still, its coronation as such on Wednesday once again marked another signature moment for the Boilermaker program.
For the the third-straight year, thanks to its 78-75 win over No. 4 Marquette Wednesday, Purdue won a marquee Feast Week event, this time against the greatest field ever assembled for a November MTE. The second-ranked Boilermakers beat No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 7 Tennessee and fourth-ranked Marquette in the span of three days. Previous No. 1 Kansas was here, too, but come Monday, Purdue will take its spot atop the rankings. Purdue will hit No. 1, again, for the third consecutive year.
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It came down to the wire, with Marquette cutting a 12-point halftime deficit down to one in the final minute. Purdue called a timeout with 46 seconds left, up just 76-75. There were 24 seconds on the shot clock. When that shot clock ran on fumes shortly there, Braden Smith had no choice but to heave a three.
But Zach Edey was inevitable. He tipped in the miss.
“It was a smart play by him just to get it up on the rim,” Edey said after piling up 28 points and 15 rebounds and being named the Invitational’s MVP. “Even to kind of hit the rim with that type of shot is impressive. With good shooters, a lot of times you get those short bounces. He’s a good shooter, obviously. The ball kind of came to me. I didn’t try to get two hands on it, so I just tried to hit it at the rim and that worked.”
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It was the biggest shot of the game, probably. Lance Jones‘ 80-foot-or-so heave at the halftime buzzer wound up providing the winning margin.
“While they were at the free-throw line, PJ (Thompson) said, ‘No shots,’ and I was like, ‘Nobody can shoot it?’ And then he’s like, ‘If you’re going to shoot it, you got to shoot it from right here, in front of the bench, and so I got Mason (Gillis’) attention, and Mason threw it to me and it felt good leaving my hands.”
Smith finished with 18 points and five assists, with Jones adding 11 and Fletcher Loyer 10.
