Jaden Ivey scored a game-high 25 points Sunday and No. 5 Purdue tallied the first 11 points of the second half as it subdued streaking Rutgers 84-72 in West Lafayette, Ind.
Ivey did much of his damage at the foul line, where he went 15 of 18 to outdo the Scarlet Knights on his own. Zach Edey added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Boilermakers (24-4, 13-4 Big Ten), who sit atop the conference with three games left.
Trevion Williams and Sasha Stefanovic each contributed 11 points and Mason Gillis chipped in 10 as Purdue canned 53.1 percent of its shots from the field against an opponent which entered the game allowing only 64.6 points per game.
Paul Mulcahy scored 15 points and dished out six assists for Rutgers (16-10, 10-6), which had its four-game winning streak — all against Top 25 schools — ended. Clifford Omoruyi had 14 points and Ron Harper Jr. netted 12 despite missing part of the second half when he re-injured his left hand. Geo Baker added 11 points.
The game’s turning point occurred at the start of the second half. After scoring the last two points of the first half to take a nine-point lead to the break, the Boilermakers rattled off 11 straight to open the second 20 minutes. They held the Scarlet Knights scoreless until the 15:17 mark.
Ivey’s layup capped the spurt that gave Purdue a 56-36 advantage. Even though Rutgers kept working the game, it couldn’t get closer than 10 points over its remainder.
The Boilermakers never trailed, but the Scarlet Knights hung with them through an entertaining first half that saw both teams counter the other’s best punches.
Purdue was efficient offensively, racing to a 28-17 lead less than 10 minutes into the game when Williams rattled off nine consecutive points. But Rutgers owned the next six minutes, closing within 32-31 on Mawot Mag’s driving layup with 4:12 left.
However, the Boilermakers established some separation going to halftime with a 13-5 spurt. Edey capped it with a putback slam that made it 45-36 at intermission.
–Field Level Media
