Purdue improves to 10-0 with win over Howard
By KEITH CARRELL
ISL Correspondent
Purdue defeated Howard 93-55 at home Wednesday night and moved to 10-0 on the season.
The Boilermakers were going to be favored to win this game, they were expected to blow out the Bison, they were expected to control the tempo and cause turnovers… and all of that was before James Daniel, the nation’s leading scorer, was announced as being out for the contest with a turf toe injury in both big toes and before it was learned that Damon Collins, the Bison’s second-leading scorer, became ill earlier in the week.
Howard isn’t a bad team, and the Bison expected to present the Boilermakers with a different set of challenges in preparation for the Big Ten season and post-season play. Daniel is a multi-faceted scorer, and the Bison play a defense Purdue has rarely seen, a very unconventional, helping zone defense which at times caused Purdue to settle for longer shots. But without Daniel and some other injuries and illnesses plaguing Howard, those challenges, as with every challenge Purdue has faced this season, appeared to be easily overcome.
Even with Howard being undermanned, Purdue started the game focused and strong, causing multiple turnovers and being very aggressive on offense, with Isaac Haas nailing some crisp, close shots and Vince Edwards capitalizing all across the halfcourt with a made triple, dunk, and mid-range jumper. Once the Boilers got a comfortable lead, though, the team and fans became much more lackadaisical and the team’s focus waned, as illustrated by Haas missing not one, but two dunks in the game. Unlike in past games and years, though, Purdue didn’t allow the lead to slip away, but continued to slowly build upon it on the way to a 56-24 halftime score.
Tonight’s photo gallery from #Purdue‘s 93-55 win over Howard on our @exposure page. https://t.co/9lggoVdb8B pic.twitter.com/MC2PJDhagR
— Purdue Basketball (@BoilerBall) December 10, 2015
Purdue leader Rapheal Davis returned to the starting lineup after sitting out the previous four contests with a sprained knee. He wore a protective knee brace, which visibly seemed to affect his performance early in the game, but after a few minutes he was able to return to his aggressive and effective style on both ends of the floor on his way to ten points in 18 minutes.
Purdue coach Matt Painter was largely happy with Davis’ return, stating that Davis “was solid, he didn’t try to do too much.” Kendall Stephens also followed up his standout performance against IUPUI with a solid, turnover-free showing. He was again active on defense and let his shot come to him in the half court. He even banked in a short jump shot in the opening half on his way to 14 points and three rebounds in only 16 minutes of action.
Purdue guard P.J. Thompson continued his early season triumphs and saw the floor exceedingly well as he dished out a career high nine assists. When asked in jest about who he would blame for not getting the tenth assist, Thompson laughingly quipped, “Yeah, we talked about that on the way in (to the post-game interview), Ray (Davis) missed a wide open layup.”
Seemingly to make up for that missed layup, Davis on the subsequent defensive possession snared a rebound and drove coast-to-coast for an authoritative layup.
The most consistent player on the night for Purdue, though, was freshman Caleb Swanigan. He earned his fourth double-double of the season and set a career high in points with 19 to go along with twelve boards. Swanigan again showed off his ability to be unselfish and find the open man, dishing out multiple assists. He also continued to display the breadth of his game by knocking down two treys. Swanigan’s penchant for passing and ability to hit the long shot should help Purdue down the stretch to draw defenders out of the paint and allow Haas and A.J. Hammons to get the ball on the block for easier shots.
This contest helped Purdue learn more about itself, which the team will surely need as the Boilers will face Butler and Vanderbilt back-to-back before opening Big Ten play at Wisconsin. This game was never truly a fair fight, and could have been even more lopsided than the 93-55 final might suggest; Purdue led 78-40 with nearly nine minutes remaining before Painter called the dogs off.
In the end, the Boilermakers’ first half score (56) was more than the Bison scored the entire game.
Quick Hits: Howard forward Collins became ill prior to the game, but he tried to gut it out in the first half, before getting dizzy and being transported to the hospital during the half time break… It’s the first time in program history that Purdue has had a ten-game winning streak with all of the contests having a double-digit margin of victory… 13 players participated for Purdue, and all scored except for Grady Eifert, who entered the contest with two minutes remaining… Purdue had 28 assists on 34 made baskets… The Boilers had a nearly flawless first half connecting on 58.3% of their field goals and going 7-7 from the free throw line with zero turnovers. Here are the postgame interviews:
Swanigan, Thompson, Davis and Coach Painter speak to the media… Some pretty good moments in this one. #BoilerUp https://t.co/H7z2kD9bFA
— Purdue Basketball (@BoilerBall) December 10, 2015
