Purdue 74, Indiana 67: Rivalry Not For the Weak

Purdue wins their 17th straight game of the season. They stay undefeated in the B10 and avoid a major upset at the start of Rivalry Week.

This group of seniors has had success in Assembly Hall, but having won 2 of the last 3 was of no comfort to them as they struggled to find their perimeter shot and trailed for large parts of this game.

Down 10-2 early in the game, Assembly Hall shook with rivalry week rage, and P.J. Thompson (4 pts, 2 asts, and 3 stls) looked over to Coach Painter as he dribbled the ball up the court. But instead of a timeout, Painter waved his hand dismissively, seemingly telling his team of seniors to go figure it out. The following play, they would, as Haarms slipped a screen and Dakota found him cutting for an open two-handed dunk that settled Purdue back into a rhythm.

That was about the only thing easy as Purdue willed themselves to a 74-67 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers despite shooting just 5 of 18 from three and allowing Indiana to shoot 50% from the floor.

With IU’s defense carving up Purdue on the pick and roll, they needed a stop early in the first half.

That’s when Dakota Mathias (9 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds) stepped in front of a roll by Jawun Morgan as the help defender and drew a charge with less than seven minutes in the half with Purdue down 21-18, finally stopping the Hoosiers bread and butter play.

Both teams started off the game cold from beyond the arc.

P. J. Thompson finally took the lid off the basket for both teams, making the first three-pointer of the game after each team missed their first six attempts. Carsen Edwards (10 points and 3 rbs) follow up attempt on the next possession would give Purdue its first lead of the game 24-23.

While Isaac Haas(26 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) has had an incredible career at Purdue scoring the ball, he had something of a coming out party in his passing game today. Three straight possessions Haas got the ball in the post and IU doubled him instantly. Each time he made the right play. The first, he got into his hook shot and saw Vincent Edwards streaking to the hoop. He turned his shot attempt into a pass and Vincent scored an easy dunk. The next play, IU sent their double baseline and Vincent was again open for a dunk. Finally, Haas caught the ball, felt the double from the opposite side of the floor and flung a cross court pass to Cline who reversed it to Mathias who drained his first three-pointer of the game.

The Hoosiers would go into half with a 2 point lead over the Boilermakers in what was looking like a possible upset.

Three minutes into the second half, Purdue holding to a small lead, the sophomore Carsen Edwards stole an IU pass left sideline and went the distance, skying up with his left-hand and dunking on Josh Newkirk for an And-1 that gave Purdue a 44-39 lead after making the free throw. Consider it Bloomington’s second mass baptism in the last three years.

After giving up the lead, Purdue found themselves down 53-50 when Dakota Mathias grabbed a rebound and pushed the ball forward to Ryan Cline, who dished it back for a three in transition by Mathias that tied the game at 53. The next possession, Mathias came hard off a screen at the top of the arc and took a moving catch and shoot three that bounced off the rim, hung up in the air, then fell in giving Purdue the 3 point edge.

Back and forth the two rival schools battled. Haas and Vincent drew fouls. Mcswain Jr. made lay-ups. The leads given up and taken back. The 16 game win streak and #3 ranking hanging on the line so Coach Painter called a timeout with less than three minutes on the clock to get his big man Isaac Haas in and to draw up a play.

What occurred next was an open three-point shot by Dakota Mathias in the corner. He would miss it, but Haas wouldn’t miss the put-back as he sealed off under the rim and grabbed the rebound. The next possession, Haas would just miss a dunk, but senior leader PJ Thompson would force a steal, and Haas would not miss a lefty lay-up that gave Purdue a two possession advantage.

IU’s offense stalled from there. Purdue’s Vincent Edwards would draw a foul in the post and knock down both his free throws. P. J. Thompson would force another turnover, taking the ball from Robert Johnson. Carsen’s two free throws would give Purdue a 73-66 lead that gave Purdue’s it’s first chance to breathe all game.

Purdue would hold for a 74-66 victory.

Juwan Morgan would score 24 points for Indiana while Robert Johnson had 21. No one else for the Hoosiers had double-digits. Purdue held IU to 3 of 16 shooting for the night.

This marks the third straight win for the Boilermakers against IU. The senior class finishes with a career mark of 5-1 against IU.

Purdue plays host to the Maryland Terapins on Wednesday.