Purdue got a little more than it bargained for in its season opener against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, getting tested in the second half before pushing back, 90-73.
On a night where Purdue unveiled its second Final Four banner in the rafters of Mackey Arena, Purdue fans had plenty of reasons to cheer from the start.
A 9 of 13 from three in the first half covered Purdue’s 9 turnovers in the first half and Purdue led comfortably, 49-33, behind 14 points from Myles Colvin and 9 assists from Braden Smith, but in the second At halftime, Purdue’s shot stopped falling as the turnovers continued.
After a Dian Wright-Ford and -1, Corpus Christi had cut Purdue’s lead to 68-64 with just over 7 minutes left. Then, Gary Clark made Corpus Christi’s 6th three-pointer to bring it within one possession, 70-67.
Then, the big men of Purdue got to work. True freshman Daniel Jacobsen would throw a two-handed Fletcher Loyer lob, and Trey Kaufman-Renn would get around his defender in the post for a layup. The two baskets would increase Purdue’s lead to 74-67. Gicarri Harris would force an offensive foul on the next possession.
Jacobsen would finish another lob, this time from Braden Smith, who realized the Corpus Christi defense was not back after a made bucket and Smith attacked in transition and Purdue would take an 81-71 lead with 3:30 to play .
Purdue would end any hopes of an upset when Smith found Trey Kaufman-Renn on the short roller who found Gicarri Harris in the corner for his first three of his career to push the game to 15 points.
Purdue’s big three shone despite a final score that was closer than expected.
Fletcher Loyer was impeccable in the first half and finished the game with 21 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor and 3 of 5 on threes.
Trey Kaufman-Renn dominated with the ball and made good passing decisions, he had 15 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.
Braden Smith started his All-American campaign strong, nearly recording a triple-double in the first action of the season. Smith finished the game with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 15 assists, one assist shy of his career high.
Coming off the bench, Myles Colvin provided a huge spark in the first half, scoring 14 and knocking down four three-pointers.
Daniel Jacobsen also had a successful introduction to college basketball, playing well late and finishing the game with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Purdue was 11 of 26 from three for the game, but 16 turnovers kept Corpus Christi in the game for most of the second half.
