Purdue 75, Maryland 67 : 18 Straight

After a first half where Purdue couldn’t make the ball go in the hoop, and Maryland couldn’t keep a hold of the ball, Purdue went inside to their big man Isaac Haas and the Terrapins didn’t have enough to answer as Purdue wins 75-67.

Maryland turned the ball over 11 times in the first half. Purdue shot 35% from the floor, but found themselves up 11 at half thanks to a defensive effort that forced Maryland into tough shots and ill-advised drives into traffic.

With their big men in early foul trouble, the Maryland Terrapins answered by going small and getting sophomore Kevin Huerter going. His three-pointer with 9:19 left pulled Maryland to within 3 points at 55-52. The Sophomore finished the game with 16 points. It was the closest the game had been since Purdue’s first made basket of the game.

But Purdue responded by attacking inside with Isaac Haas who continues an excellent stretch of basketball. After scoring 24 points against Michigan and tying his career-high with 26 points in Bloomington on Sunday, the senior had his 3rd straight game of at least 20 points. He scored 20 and grabbed 9 rebounds.

The Boilermakers struggled for the second game to shoot the ball. After going 5 of 18 in Assembly Hall, they came back to Mackey to find the rims similarly unkind. They were just 7 of 22.

While the team struggled, Dakota Mathias kept them afloat by knocking down 3 of his 6 three-point attempts for 11 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds.

The Edwards continue to lead this team. Vincent Edwards came into the game suffering from an illness that had him puking for most the game. That didn’t keep him from working on the glass, finishing with 11 rebounds to go with 8 points and 5 assists. Carsen Edwards continues to dazzle in black and gold, scoring 17 points and turning the ball over just once.

Matt Haarms had a big game, scoring 8 points in the first half, but struggled with foul trouble. He played just 12 minutes before fouling out.

P. J. Thompson had a tough night shooting the basketball. The senior point guard made just one of his 6 attempts from the floor, including 1 of 5 from deep, but he drew a big foul late, pump-faking and getting Huerter to nearly leap over him before catching a knee to his shoulder.

The Boilermakers now travel to Rutgers on Saturday before they have their two biggest games of the year, hosting Ohio State and then traveling to East Lansing.

While Purdue’s 18th straight win wasn’t pretty, they controlled the game when they needed to and closed out another ball game.

The #3 team in the country is now 22-2 on the year and a perfect 11-0 in B10 play.