The Sports Xchange
Nov 18, 2017
Purdue made 13 of 18 first-half 3-point attempts, built a 58-28 lead through 20 minutes and went on to crush Fairfield 106-64 on Saturday night at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
The No. 19 Boilermakers (4-0) made five 3s in the game's first 3:26 and led 15-3 at that point.
Dakota Mathias, Vince Edwards and P.J. Thompson were a collective 13 of 15 from behind the 3-point arc through 20 minutes when Mathias had 18 points, Edwards had 16 and six rebounds, and Thompson had 12 points and two steals. Mathias was 5 of 5 from 3-point range before the break.
Mathias finished with 23 points, Vince Edwards had 21, Carsen Edwards scored 18, Thompson had 12 and starting center Isaac Haas had eight.
Purdue shot 51.3 percent from the field.
The Boilermakers enjoyed a 20-2 advantage off Fairfield's 14 first-half turnovers and outrebounded the Stags (2-1) by a 21-16 margin at the break.
Fairfield guard Tyler Nelson had 10 first-half points and finished with 16.
The Boilermakers expanded their lead to 75-45 with 14:38 remaining. At that point, four of Purdue's five starters had reached double figures.
Purdue heads to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis, where it will play Tennessee on Wednesday.
NOTES: Of the 16 players on the Fairfield roster, nine are from foreign countries. ... The Stags entered this game allowing only 62 points a game, limiting opponents to 34.4 percent field goal shooting, including 22.5 percent from 3-point range. ... Coach Sydney Johnson is 92-110 in his seventh season at Fairfield. ... Purdue is 4-0 for the seventh time in Matt Painter's 13th season at his alma mater. The Boilermakers started 11-0 last season when they won the Big Ten regular-season championship.