The Sports Xchange
Nov 10, 2017
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Senior guard Dakota Mathias scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half and Vince Edwards added 11 of his 14 as No. 20 Purdue won its season opener Friday night with a 105-74 victory against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
The visiting Cougars (0-1) jumped to a 10-5 lead with 16:04 remaining in the first half before the Boilermakers countered with a 17-4 run to lead 24-14 mark at the 10:24 mark.
Purdue (1-0) was celebrating its 50th season in Mackey Arena and unveiled the 2017 Big Ten championship banner before tipoff.
Sophomore guard Carsen Edwards and center Isaac Haas added 16 apiece for Purdue.
Center Julian Torres scored 20 points and guard Daniel Kinchen had 17 for SIU-Edwardsville.
The Boilermakers shot a blistering 59 percent (16 of 27) before intermission to build a 52-32 lead through 20 minutes and were never threatened.
Purdue improved to 12-1 openers in season openers for coach Matt Painter. The Boilermakers improved their lead to 80-57 with 9:39 remaining.
NOTES: SIU-Edwardsville assistant coach Tarrance Crump is a 2008 Purdue graduate who played for Painter, scoring 338 points in 67 career games. ... The Cougars are in their 50th season of basketball. Third-year coach James Harris is 12-47 after Friday's loss. ... Purdue is 1,766-1,003 in 120 seasons of college basketball. ...The Boilermakers have won eight consecutive games in Mackey. ... Before playing the Cougars, Purdue's past four season-opening victories were by 40, 41 and 44 and 31 points. ... The Boilermakers are coming off a season in which they averaged 8.7 made 3-pointers, 45th best in the nation. ... Purdue has been a Top 25 AP member for 39 consecutive weeks.