WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Rutgers (10-6, 0-3) resumed Big Ten Conference play Wednesday evening, falling at No. 13/12 Purdue (14-2, 3-0), 82-51, before 13,449 fans at Mackey Arena. Facing their third ranked league foe in as many games, the Scarlet Knights forced 16 turnovers, but were undone by the Boilermakers' 10 three-pointers.
"That was a heck of a game by a Purdue," said Rutgers head coach
Steve Pikiell. "Matt Painter does a tremendous job. They are a senior laden team. I really thought that we played hard. We cut it to 14 (in the second half), and to their credit, they made shots."
Geo Baker and
Mike Williams scored in double figures for RU, posting 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Purdue shot 49 percent (26-of-53), while Rutgers made 33 percent (20-of-60) of its field goal attempts. The Boilermakers deposited 10-of-23 shots from behind the arc, compared to a 2-of-13 mark for the Scarlet Knights. The home squad benefited from a 45-27 advantage on the glass.
Mamadou Doucoure got things started for the Scarlet Knights, scoring the team's first five points. The Boilermakers answered with a 14-2 run, draining four triples over that stretch to take a 23-9 lead.
Deshawn Freeman had a series of first-half dunks, but the Boilermakers countered with 7-of-12 shooting from behind the arc to stretch their lead to 35-19. The home squad extended that lead to 21 points by halftime, taking a 45-24 advantage into the locker room.
Doucoure, Freeman and Baker all shared the team lead at intermission with six points apiece. Rutgers shot 29 percent, while Purdue shot 55 percent, including 58 percent mark from long range. Rutgers forced eight turnovers in the opening stanza, but the Boilermakers built a 25-15 advantage on the boards.
In the second half, Rutgers cut into that deficit in the early going. The Scarlet Knights held Purdue without a field goal in the first 5:51 of the frame, and started off 6-of-9 from the field. Baker swished the team's first three-pointer of the night to cut the Boilermaker's lead to 51-37.
Halfway through the second frame, RU was shooting 61 percent (8-of-13), and holding Purdue to 25 percent (2-of-8). That sparked an 18-12 run over the 10 minutes stretch to cut the Purdue lead to 57-42.
The Boilermakers responded with a hot stretch, answering that with an 18-3 run to extend their lead to 75-45. The home squad closed out the game from there to ensure the victory.
"I knew we had to have an elite kind of game, and we just didn't," said Pikiell. "(It was) to their credit, because of the defense they played. They have a lot of weapons offensively."
Rutgers returns home to host Wisconsin Friday evening at the RAC in a 7 p.m. tip-off. The game will be televised on ESPN2, with Mike Corey and Jay Williams on the call.
Single game tickets for Rutgers men's basketball home games are available
online or by calling the Rutgers Ticket Office at 1-866-445-GORU. Fans also have the opportunity to purchase
flex ticket plans, which enable consumers to select any four games from the home schedule to create their own package.
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Postgame Notes
- Freshman Geo Baker reached double-digit points for the 12th time in 16 games
- Freshman Mamadou Doucoure had eight points in just nine minutes of action, his third highest point total of the season.
- Deshawn Freeman, who entered the game 7th in the Big Ten with 1.5 steals per game, tied his season-high with four thefts for the second consecutive game.
- Mike Williams scored double-digit points for the seventh time this season and 48th time in his career.
- Rutgers forced 16 turnovers, Purdue's third most of the season and most against a Big Ten foe.
- Corey Sanders now has 1,064 career points, moving past JR Inman for 33rd place all-time at RU.
- Mike Williams now has 1,027 career points, moving past Rick Dadika and Marquis Webb for 40th place all-time at RU.
- Purdue now leads the all-time series 9-1.
