Hammons returns to starting lineup, leads Purdue past Michigan
By KEITH CARRELL
ISL Correspondent
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. _ A.J. Hammons started for the first time this season and helped Purdue overtake Michigan 87-70 Thursday night to advance to 2-1 in Big Ten play.
The 7-foot senior center finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four blocks for the Boilermakers.
Rapheal Davis said after the second-half implosion against Iowa in Purdue’s previous game that the seniors had to step up for the Boilermakers. In their next game out, the seniors carried Purdue, led by Davis and Hammons throughout the game, but Johnny Hill also chipped in at the end of the game to help seal the victory.
Here are the game highlights, courtesy of Purdue Athletics:
The number of highlights you can cram into 120 seconds is astounding! #RememberTheName https://t.co/jXXcQYgfAr
— Purdue Basketball (@BoilerBall) January 8, 2016
Purdue, as it has become accustomed, got off to a slow start to the game and missed a number of close shots, most notably from Vince Edwards, Caleb Swanigan, Hammons and Isaac Haas. Purdue was able to keep the game close throughout the first half until Davis decided to take matters into his own hands, slashing to the bucket for not one, but two and-one layups. Over the course of about two minutes preceding the under-four minute timeout in the first half, Purdue went on a 10-0 run (12-0 in total) to take a 31-23 lead and force Michigan head coach John Beilein to call a timeout to stem the tide. From that moment on, Purdue controlled the lead and the game, although the score truly didn’t break open until late in the second half.
Purdue coach Matt Painter said it meant a lot to have Davis take ownership for the loss to Iowa.
“Rapheal helps your program… He’s like an old soul, right away he accepts the blame for things,” Painter said. “It really helps our program because now the people in our program knows what leadership looks like.”
Davis led the charge for the seniors with 16 points, six assists and five rebounds in the first truly aggressive game he has shown since suffering an MCL sprain early in the season. Hammons also helped control the game, especially on defense, where he contributed four blocks to go along with 17 points.
Hill returned to the starting lineup for the first time since P.J. Thompson had become the starter earlier in the season. In the second half, Hill had a terrific segment where he had a shot clock-beating drive and dunk worthy of a spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 along with another aggressive drive, assist, and a game-sealing steal on defense. In all, Purdue had a fantastic second half statistically as a team, missing only five field goals and two free throws (16-21 FG, 7-10 3FG, and 13-15 FT) on its way to 76% shooting from the field and 87% from the line.
When asked about what was the difference maker in this game versus failing to hang onto the lead against Iowa, Davis replied, “We took care of the ball in those (big) moments.”
This game wasn’t all about Purdue, though, as Michigan’s Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had a huge night starting in place of the Wolverine’s best player, Caris LeVert, who was out with an injury. Abdur-Rahkman kept Michigan in the game, scoring 25 points, including ten quickly in the first half. Duncan Robinson also had eight first half points to help Michigan maintain a small lead through most of the opening stanza.
Swanigan, Purdue’s star freshman, had a forgettable night in front of nearly 20 NBA scouts. He struggled defending the smaller and quicker forwards from Michigan and he never quite got into the flow on offense, playing a very forced, tight game. Because of his struggles, Painter benched him twice in the first half in favor of Edwards. This is the type of game that will help a talented young player like Swanigan grow, though, and it’s promising to see how he handled himself when he was on the bench. On multiple occasions Swanigan could be seen talking with assistant coaches to understand what he was doing wrong and at least once he was using a dry erase board to draw up what he was seeing to go over with the coaches.
The one thing Purdue fans may see come from this revelation, though, is moderately less playing time for Swanigan in upcoming games to allow Edwards to play the power forward spot more. This also would resolve a concern Painter has voiced over finding enough minutes for his shooters, Kendall Stephens, Dakota Mathias, and Ryan Cline. Edwards seemed much more comfortable playing the power forward position against Michigan than he had in any game this season.
With Hill taking over the starting point guard duties again, Thompson was able to provide a spark off the bench for Purdue. I will continue to harp, until proven otherwise, that Thompson is much more valuable for Purdue off the bench than starting, as he can always be counted on to bring energy into the game on both ends of the floor. Thursday night, he chipped in two three-point shots while also causing chaos for the Wolverines on defense. If I’m Matt Painter, I see this as an opportunity for a situation much like the Pacers have with Rodney Stuckey. It’s a gift to have a player who embraces a role of constantly being spark off the bench; that energy boost is priceless for a team that occasionally needs a kick in the pants.
Painter mentioned after the game, “any time you struggle and you play poorly, like we did (in the second half against Iowa), you want to get that bad taste out of your mouth. You just want to play another game… Nobody wants to get that way and play cautious or play timid, but we did… I thought, tonight, we were able to bounce back from that.”
Bounce back they did, for the second time this season after a loss. But this time was different. This time, it was about senior leadership and this crop of seniors showed the Purdue faithful that they care about this team, about this game, about this year. Now, to see what unfolds with the rest of the Big Ten slate and how mature and successful this team truly can be.
Quick Hits:
Hammons’ four blocks, bring his Purdue career total to 298 and sits second in school history to Joe Barry Carroll (349)… Purdue scored 16 points off of eight Michigan turnovers… Purdue assisted on 26 of their 30 made field goals and committed only nine turnovers… Basil Smotherman’s cast has been removed and he’s been warming up early before games at least the last two contests, but he will remain a redshirt for this season… Ryan Cline was the only Boiler to play and not score, but he still contributed with three assists and a steal without a turnover in eleven minutes… Purdue’s seniors combined for 43 of the team’s 87 points.
