Swanigan goes 20-20 vs. W. Illinois; Boilers to close non-conference vs. Norfolk St.
By KEITH CARRELL
@BoilerColts
ISL Purdue Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. _ Caleb Swanigan earned his second 20-20 performance of the season in a seemingly effortless 82-50 win over Western Illinois in the Monday night matinee. Swanigan earned a double-double by halftime (13-11) and concluded the night with 21 points and 21 boards in only 28 minutes of action.
Biggie in elite company. 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/ZmD8RLU2vU
— Purdue Basketball (@BoilerBall) December 20, 2016
“When you (have) players like (Swanigan) going after every rebound, it’s kind of demoralizing for the other team,” Isaac Haas mentioned when asked about the impact that a great rebounder can have on the game and when asked what mindset it takes to rebound so effectively, Swanigan added, “you just gotta go every time and that’s what I try to do every game.”
The game started with a thud on offense with both squads struggling from the field. Western Illinois took the lid off the bucket first with a made three by Mike Miklusak at the 17:29 mark. Isaac Haas scored the first four points from the charity stripe, but Purdue didn’t score a field goal until nearly four minutes into the game when P.J. Thompson got a layup to roll on the iron and in, giving the Boilers an early 6-3 lead. The struggles would continue as the Leathernecks would only score one more field goal before the second media timeout, giving Purdue a 13-5 advantage.
Coach Matt Painter clearly wanted to focus his team on his times primary strength and pound the ball inside early to large success, inflated further by Western Illinois’ penchant for fouling. Haas scored his first eleven points from the foul line before missing his twelfth and final attempt of the first half. He didn’t score a field goal until he spun around Brandon Gilbeck for a two-handed slam early in the second half. Swanigan scored Purdue’s first three for the second consecutive game and also earned four points from the line en route to his 13 first half points.
When asked about Purdue’s interior players, Painter mentioned that “they were really good. (Swanigan) had a big time effort, I thought (Haas) made his free throws and was very consistent tonight, and I thought Vincent (Edwards) had a great overall game (going) 16-6-6 with no turnovers.”
🎥 Looking back — #Purdue 82, Western Illinois 50.
🚂🆙 #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/KQtPANUg9d
— Purdue Basketball (@BoilerBall) December 20, 2016
As a team, Purdue scored 16 points in the paint, went 15-18 from the line, and held the Leathernecks scoreless from the interior in the opening stanza to set the pace. As much as Purdue forced the ball to the interior, Western Illinois was equally focused on the perimeter shot with some success; the Leathernecks nailed eight of their first eleven attempts from long range to start the game.
But the collective shot simply was not there early for Purdue and the lack of success from the field allowed Western Illinois to close the lead to 27-22 after Miklusak sank a three with six minutes left in the first half. Purdue responded abruptly by scoring the game’s next twelve points, before C.J. Duff made another triple for the Leathernecks to end the Boilermakers’ run with just under three minutes to go. Purdue took a 44-28 lead into the locker room.
The second half saw the modest Purdue lead blossom to 22 with a methodical inside-out game and a focus on rebounding the ball on both ends of the court. Purdue slowly built the lead to 59-37 before setting the cruise control with twelve and a half minutes remaining. After Swanigan had earned his 20-20 night, Painter gave him a well-earned reprieve from the rest of the game by reinserting Haas for a short stint and then finally called off the dogs officially by usurping Haas for Grady Eifert. Eifert reeled in a couple of boards before Painter cleared the rest of the bench for Tommy Luce and Jon McKeeman to see the game through its final minutes. Luce, a fan-favorite, gave the crowd one last hurrah by getting into the scoring column with a made free throw.
The contest had its share of battles and bruises. Just over three minutes into the game, Haas was pulled to the floor awkwardly by Jordan Hughes who had locked arms with the 7’2” center on an offensive rebound which gave the Mackey crowd a bit of a scare, but Haas quickly arose and appeared no worse for the wear, but to be safe Painter quickly took him out for Edwards. Western Illinois was not unscathed either, as Jabari Sandifer appeared to injure his right leg with around seven minutes remaining in the opening half while the Leathernecks were running in transition and Ryan Cline had fouled Jalen Morgan. Sandifer got attention from the Western Illinois training staff for a couple of minutes before finally throwing his arms around a couple of his teammates’ shoulders and was carried back to the team’s bench.
The victory, Purdue’s 5th straight, increased the team’s overall record to 10-2 with just one non-conference game against Norfolk State Wednesday night before Iowa visits Mackey on December 28th.
Quick Hits:
Earlier in the day, the Big Ten announced that Swanigan had earned his second conference Player of the Week award of the season for his efforts in defeating Notre Dame… Swanigan is the first Boilermaker to grab at least twenty rebounds twice in the same season since 1972, when William Franklin accomplished the feat four times… Swanigan also tied a school record for most defensive rebounds in a game (15), which was set by Brad Miller in 1998… Western Illinois’ Miklusak (from Dyer, IN) made the Leathernecks’ first eight points… Miklusak netted a double-double of his own scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds… Edwards continues to be a difference maker as Purdue’s 6th man by contributing 16 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and no turnovers on top of his easily apparent scrappiness in 28 minutes… As a team Purdue made their first ten free throw attempts and went 15-18 from the line in the first half, 23-30 in the game… Western Illinois committed 15 fouls in the first half and had four different players with three before the break… Purdue outrebounded Western Illinois 51-29 and committed only six turnovers in the game, three came from Swanigan… Spike Albrecht continues to sit out with a back injury and no updated timetable for his anticipated return was given.
