Purdue rolls past IUPUI
By KEITH CARRELL
ISL Correspondent
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue overcame a sluggish first half to defeat IUPUI Monday night 80-53 and improve to 9-0.
The Boilermakers led the Jaguars by only eight points going into halftime. IUPUI was able to keep the game close through the early portion of the second half with scrappy play and quickness to the ball; the vastly oversized Jaguars even outrebounded Purdue by four in the opening stanza.
Purdue coach Matt Painter’s halftime speech must have clicked, though, as the Boilers were locked in for most of the second half. A.J. Hammons and Kendall Stephens fueled a huge surge, highlighted by a 24-1 run, to firmly put the game in hand. Purdue led 49-41 with 13:01 left in the second half when they began their stellar run and held IUPUI without a field goal until Darrell Combs sank a three, to make it 73-45 with 4:47 to play.
Hammons will soon be known as the closer if he continues to excel in the second halves of games. He was honored earlier Monday as the Big Ten player of the week for his standout performances in the second halves last week in wins at Pittsburgh and against New Mexico. Hammons continued that trend against IUPUI by chipping in another dominant performance in which he didn’t miss a shot (6-6 FG, 2-2 FT). Hammons contributed 14 points, four rebounds, two blocked shots, and a steal – most of which came in the second half.
Stephens had his best all-around game of the early season and possibly of his Purdue career. Known as a three point sharpshooter, Stephens has the potential to be a wing in the NBA with the natural talent he has to go along with his incredibly long arms and ability to play both ends of the floor. Although the talent is there, he has often underwhelmed Purdue fans with his quick trigger and inconsistent defensive approach. Against IUPUI, he had a terrific opening half where he was both patient on offense and active on defense, including a block from behind near the end of the half which released a deafening roar from the Mackey faithful.
Painter was happy with Stephens’ performance, saying that “he did a good job defensively… He was aware of what was going on… (and) he made some really unselfish, smart plays.”
Stephens continued to excel in the second half and even passed up a few shots to dish it to a better look on the perimeter or down low to Hammons. During Purdue’s second half run, Stephens had a trifecta of perfection using his length to tip and steal a pass, drive to the hoop in transition, and make free throws when he was fouled on the layup attempt. For the game, Stephens finished with a solid 13 points, four steals two rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots in only 19 minutes of action.
Stephens on what led to his improved play: “I wanted to be aggressive on defense… regardless of if my shot was going to fall. I’m just trying to impact the game more than on the offensive end.”
The first half, though, was a different story for most of the team. Purdue got off to a quick start making three of their first four shots from long range. The Boilermakers may have shot themselves into a stagnant offense, though, as they moved less and began to take lower quality jump shots which may have helped contribute to IUPUI outrebounding Purdue 20-16 through the first half. The Jaguars were also successful in using their undersized quickness to get around defenders on dribble drives to the hoop. Caleb Swanigan especially had issues with his footwork when trying to defend drives from the smaller forwards.
Aside from some defensive deficiencies, Swanigan had an otherwise solid game and his best performance since the November 22nd win against Florida. Swanigan finished the game with his third double-double of the season, including eleven points and 14 rebounds to go along with four assists and a blocked shot.
It wasn’t the prettiest game of the season, none of which have been perfect, but if Purdue continues to improve and if this version of Kendall Stephens becomes consistent, Purdue fans will have a lot to be happy about as the season progresses with a mature squad bearing a multitude of weapons in their arsenal.
As Swanigan stated post-game, “None of us really focus on who scores the most. We’re all just trying to win and we feel like we have a deep team and (on any given night) it’s any man’s night.”
Quick Hits:
Prior to the game, Purdue honored Indiana native and Pearl Harbor survivor James C DeWitt, (Chief Yeoman, United States Navy) in remembrance of the attack on December 7th, 1941… All nine victories to begin the season have been by double-digits. … Swanigan’s third double-double ties him for fourth most by a Purdue freshman, and in only nine games… Rapheal Davis sat for the fourth straight game, but Painter said he could have played tonight and he is expected to play Wednesday against Howard… Purdue was very efficient on offense, assisting on 20 of their 28 made field goals and made 51.9% of their shots, including a 57.7% clip in the second half… Purdue had a combined nine blocks from five players, led by three from Isaac Haas.
