WEST LAFAYETTE − It rained on Purdue’s campus Tuesday morning.
By night, it rained 3-pointers inside Mackey Arena.
Fletcher Loyer’s 3-pointer on Purdue basketball‘s third possession was the catalyst for an unreal night from beyond the arc for the Boilermakers.
No. 18 Purdue drained 18 of 36 3-pointers to bury Rutgers 100-71 on senior night.
At one point, Purdue was 16 of 26 before going cold late.
It marked the second straight game Purdue (21-9) shot 50% from 3-point range and the 10th time this season the Boilermakers made double-digit 3s. Purdue’s 18 3s were one off a season-high and two off the program record for makes in a game.
Rutgers got a rare eight-point possession that looked like it’d be a potential game-changer.
Jeremiah Williams made a 3 as Purdue center Trey Kaufman-Renn was called for a flagrant 1 foul on the box out. Lathan Sommerville hit both free throws and, with the Scarlet Knights maintaining possession due to the flagrant, Dylan Harper’s 3 turned a tie game into a 27-19 Rutgers lead.
The Boilermakers had a counterpunch, scoring seven points in 35 seconds, riding that to a 13-2 run that ultimately became Purdue outscoring the Scarlet Knights 31-14 over the final 9:44 of the first half.
The second half began with eight straight Boilermaker points, all but ending hopes of a Rutgers rally.
After making 11 of 22 3s against UCLA on Friday, Purdue upped it in another 50% showing.
It’s the eighth time in 16 games at Mackey Arena this season the Boilermakers shot at least 40% from 3, topped when Purdue made 19 of 33 against Nebraska on Jan. 12.
Braden Smith, Purdue: Purdue’s point guard did what Braden Smith does. Nine assists, including the 700th of his career on an alley-oop to lone Purdue senior Caleb Furst. Smith also had five rebounds, two steals. Oh yeah, and 23 points while making seven 3s.
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue: When Purdue wasn’t bleeding out Rutgers’ defense from beyond the arc, it was doing so with its redshirt junior center. Kaufman-Renn was 8 of 10 and scored 16 points. He also had eight rebounds.
Fletcher Loyer, Purdue: The Boilermaker marksman showed off his shooting prowess, going 7 of 12 from 3 and scoring 23 points.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
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