NCAA News Wire
Purdue 83, Indiana 67
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue Boilermakers used 63 percent first-half field goal shooting and tenacious defense throughout the night to cruise to an 83-67 victory against the No. 22 Indiana Hoosiers at Mackey Arena on Wednesday.
Junior guard Rapheal Davis led the Boilermakers with 19 points. Junior guard Yogi Ferrell paced the Hoosiers with 21.
After having lost 13 consecutive games to ranked opponents, Purdue has victories against back-to-back ranked foes, defeating then No. 25 Iowa 67-63 on Saturday.
It also is the second consecutive season Purdue has beaten Indiana at Mackey Arena — 82-64 last year when the Boilermakers finished 5-13 in Big Ten action.
Purdue (13-8, 5-3 in the Big Ten) began the second half on an 8-0 blitz, which increased a 38-27 lead to 46-27, essentially knocking the Hoosiers (15-6, 5-3) out of an opportunity to rally.
Another 8-0 Boilermaker run from the 11:37 mark until 8:54 remained for a 62-44 advantage.
The Hoosiers, who lost Sunday at Ohio State, entered as the nation’s 12th highest-scoring team at 81.4 but struggled to get anyone other than Ferrell involves in the offense.
A Davis 3-pointer with 3:58 remaining gave the Boilermakers a 73-53 advantage.
Center A.J. Hammons added 11 points for Purdue, and reserve point guard Bryson Scott had 12.
Hammons scored nine points in the first half, with sophomore non-starters Basil Smotherman and Scott each adding six as Purdue opened a 38-27 halftime lead.
Scott’s driving layup at the final buzzer extended the Boilermakers’ lead to 11.
Ferrell paced the Hoosiers with six points at halftime.
Purdue led 15-6 with 12:26 left in the first half after an 8-0 run that prompted Indiana coach Tom Crean to call a timeout. A layup by Davis with 8:26 left increased the Boilermakers’ advantage to 22-12.
Indiana was limited to four field goals during the first 13:59 of the half.
A driving layup by Scott gave Purdue a 30-15 lead with 6:16 to go in the half, resulting in Crean calling a second timeout.
The Hoosiers countered with a quick 7-0 burst to pull within 30-22 on a layup by guard Stanford Robinson with 4:08 left in the half, but another Scott drive to the basket pushed the Boilermakers ahead 32-22 with 3:51 to go before intermission.
NOTES: Purdue and Kentucky are the only teams with a better than .500 winning percentage (minimum 10 games) against Indiana. … In Big Ten games, Purdue is the only team in the conference’s top five in field goal percentage (fourth) and in field goal percentage defense (second). … Boilermakers C A.J. Hammons is one of five active players in America with at least 900 career points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocks. … Indiana ranks eighth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (41.0), 11th in 3-pointers made per game (9.1) and 12th in scoring (81.4). … After Wednesday night’s game, Indiana will play six of its final 10 regular-season games at home.
