Purdue rolls past Wayne State (Neb.) in exhibition
From Purdue Athletics
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men’s basketball team sprinted out to an 11-0 lead and was never threatened in a 91-58 victory over Wayne State (Neb.) in the final exhibition tune-up for the Boilermakers in front of 11,911 fans in Mackey Arena on Monday night.
The Boilermakers won their 23rd straight exhibition contest in the process and improved to 18-0 under head coach Matt Painter in exhibition play.
Purdue used its defensive pressure to race out to the early lead, converting 21 first-half Wayne State turnovers into 26 points en route to a 46-15 halftime lead. The Wildcats had more turnovers (21) than field goal attempts (19) and their last field goal of the first half came at the 5:47 mark.
The Boilermakers had separate runs of 11-0, 8-0 and 9-0 during the opening 20 minutes, leading by as many as 33 points at 46-13 just before halftime, before settling in for the 46-15 halftime advantage.
Purdue would push the margin to as many as 38 points at 78-40 with 9:32 to play, before easing in for the 33-point victory, 91-58.
Purdue shot 38-of-68 (.559) from the field, 5-of-15 (.333) from three-point range and 10-of-18 (.556) from the free throw line. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Wildcats, 35-31, and were guilty of 17 turnovers. Purdue recorded 19 steals in the contest.
Wayne State, meanwhile, shot 21-of-51 (.412) from the field, 5-of-17 (.294) from long distance and 11-of-15 (.733) from the free throw line. After shooting just 4-of-19 (.211) in the first half, the Wildcats were 17-of-32 (.531) from the field in the final 20 minutes. Wayne State turned the ball over 29 times.
Senior Errick Peck led the Boilermakers with 16 points on 7-of-8 field goal attempts with six rebounds and five steals in just 19 minutes. Rapheal Davis added 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting with three steals and two rebounds. Bryson Scott and Terone Johnson each added 10 points, while Ronnie Johnson had nine points and six assists and Kendall Stephens added nine points on 3-of-5 three-point attempts.
Eight different players scored at least seven points for the Boilermakers and Jay Simpson led Purdue with seven rebounds.
Ryan Rolfzen led Wayne State with 11 points.
The Boilermakers will officially tip off their season on Friday night when Northern Kentucky visits Mackey Arena for the first meeting between the two schools. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) and tickets are available by calling 1-800-49SPORT.
Here are the game highlights:
Here are the postgame interviews:
