BASKETBALL

Purdue basketball shows no hangover from Arizona, hits 100 points for 1st time in 2 years

Sam King
Lafayette Journal & Courier
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WEST LAFAYETTE — The hangover from an Arizona high didn't happen.

Playing at Mackey Arena for the first time in 17 days, No. 1 Purdue basketball put away the inferior Jacksonville Dolphins early.

The Boilermakers (11-1) led by double figures before the first media timeout and cruised to a 100-57 victory, their 34th straight non-conference regular season victory.

Four players finished in double figures — and nearly a fifth after Will Berg had four dunks in the final five minutes — led by Zach Edey's 18 points and 8 rebounds.

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Purdue had lethargic moments, but proved to be too much for the Dolphins and the Boilers played like they knew it. Still, a late surge got Purdue over the century mark for the first time since beating Nicholls State 104-90 on Dec. 29, 2001.

It was the 17th win in 19 seasons under Matt Painter on the final game before Christmas.

It was over when

Mason Gillis came off the bench and hit a 3 from the top of the key that put Purdue up 22-9.

Even when Jacksonville fought to close the gap within 29-22, it never felt like a threat. The surge from the beginning was the gap Purdue needed to prance into the holiday on a four-game winning streak.

The Dolphins (8-5) were never able to get as close as seven again. Lance Jones responded with a 3 to again put Purdue up by double digits.

More:Purdue basketball retakes No. 1 college basketball ranking after beating Arizona

3 stars

Purdue Boilermakers forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (4) grabs a rebound during the NCAA men’s basketball game against the Jacksonville Dolphins, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.

Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue: The 6-foot-9 redshirt sophomore needed to have a game like this. By halftime, you had to double check to make sure you weren't misreading Braden Smith's stat line. Kaufman-Renn got going on offense early, hitting a 3 on Purdue's first possession and had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists by halftime. He finished with 15, 6 and 4.

Lance Jones, Purdue: Is anyone having more fun this season than the graduate transfer from Southern Illinois? Jones' swaggy style was on display Thursday night and came with two fast break dunks and two 3-pointers. Jones compiled 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.

Myles Colvin, Purdue: Yeah, we should've put Edey here. But that's too easy. On this night, give some love to the freshman, who had a career-high 11 points, including two highlight reel dunks. Colvin also had two steals and a block.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

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