Field Level Media
Nov 23, 2019
Purdue did what it was supposed to do against a couple of underdog opponents following a tough two-game stretch.
Junior center Matt Haarms had 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead Purdue to an 81-49 home win against Jacksonville State on Saturday night in West Lafayette, Ind.
Following back-to-back losses to Texas and Marquette, Purdue (3-2) beat Chicago State and Jacksonville State entering a tougher stretch that starts with a neutral-site game against VCU on Friday.
The Gamecocks (1-3) dropped their second straight game.
Purdue trailed 1-0 and then never relinquished the lead, jumping ahead 16-3 with 12:44 remaining in the first half.
The Boilermakers went on an 18-2 run over a span of 6:20 in the first half to take a 43-15 lead with 1:12 remaining in the first half.
Purdue took a 45-20 lead into halftime and didn't let up in the second half, starting out on a 10-0 run to take a 55-20 lead with 17:04 remaining in the game.
Purdue built its lead to as many 39 points on two different occasions after that.
Haarms went 6-for-10 from the field and made all five of his free throws in leading the way for the Boilermakers.
Senior Jahaad Proctor added 14 points for Purdue, which shot 55.4 percent from the field (31 of 56) and had 23 assists to just 10 for Jacksonville State.
The Gamecocks entered the game having scored at least 65 points in its first three games, but were stymied by a stingy Purdue defense.
Jacksonville State was held to 27.1 percent shooting overall (16 of 59) and 23.8 percent shooting from 3-point range (5 of 21). The Gamecocks also were only 12 of 21 from the free-throw line.
Sophomore De'Torrion Ware was the only player in double figures for Jacksonville State, scoring 13 points.
--Field Level Media