In a game marked by large scoring runs by both teams, the Purdue Boilermakers outlasted the Maryland Terrapins at Mackey Arena on Sunday afternoon, 83-78.
After losing at Penn State on Thursday night, Purdue faced the possibility of starting a Big 10 season 0-2 for the first time in 11 years. Thanks to a comeback victory spurred by their best players, Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn, and Fletcher Loyer, not to mention some valuable contributions from Camden Heide, the Boilers avoided that distinction and extended their home-winning streak to 23 games, their last Mackey Arena-loss coming at the hands of Indiana on February 25, 2023.
Maryland Started Off Strong, Limited Purdue’s Offense
Alex Martin/Journal And Courier
The starting frontcourt for Maryland, 6-9 Julian Reese and 6-10 Derik Queen, had head coach Matt Painter thinking about going a bit bigger with his starting lineup; Caleb Furst was initially slated to start, but Myles Colvin took his usual spot in the “smaller” group that have started each game since the Marshall win almost three weeks ago.
Maryland began with a 2-3 zone on defense, something the Boilermakers have not seen much this year and forced Purdue to beat them from the outside. The Boilers obliged.
However, it did not look very promising after the first 20 minutes. Kaufman-Renn was limited to six points because of foul trouble, and due to his prolonged absence, Maryland was able to grab eight offensive rebounds in the first half and convert them into valuable second-chance baskets.
In fact, the 36-31 halftime deficit was the biggest experienced by Purdue at home since February 15, 2024. In that game, Minnesota was unable to hold that lead and succumbed to the Boilers, 84-76.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice scored 10 points apiece in the first half to pace the Terrapins. Queen added eight points and nine rebounds before the intermission.
A Second Half Of Runs Led To A Purdue Victory
The Boilermakers began the second half on offense but promptly turned the ball over, and Maryland converted to make the score 38-31, their largest lead of the game, just 19 seconds in.
But, two three-point baskets by Loyer and another from Smith knotted the score at 40 with just over 17 minutes remaining in the game.
Another long-distance from Smith made the score 46-42 with 15:38 to play, but Queen, the Terrapins’ freshman sensation, began to assert himself offensively.
Maryland scored the next six points, but an old-fashioned three-point play from Furst allowed Purdue to retake the lead 49-48 with 13:28 remaining.
See Also: Video of Caleb Furst’s Three-Point Play
In their attempt to defeat Purdue at Mackey Arena for only the second time ever, Queen needed to step up as his running mate, Reese, picked up his 4th foul with 12:32 to go. With the Boilermakers clinging to a 57-54 lead, Queen hit his first two three-point baskets of the season to help Maryland regain the lead, 60-57. Another basket from Deshawn Harris-Smith completed an 8-0 run and extended the Terrapin lead to five.
Alex Martin/Journal And Courier
Purdue answered with a 10-0 run of their own, punctuated by a Smith three-pointer to make the score 67-62 with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
Gillespie cut the lead to two at 69-67 with 3:35 to go via a step-back three-point baskets, but that was the closest Maryland would get for the remainder of the game, thanks to an 8-0 Boiler run for a 77-67 with two minutes to go.
Maryland hung tough and did not go away quietly, but taking care of the basketball in the final minutes combined with making clutch free throws sealed the deal for Purdue.
Queen finished with a game-high 26 points, but Purdue displayed a balanced attack to combat him. Smith led four Boilermakers in double-figures with 24 points. Kaufman-Renn pitched in 21, Heide stepped up with 15, and Loyer added 12.
A glaring improvement on the stat sheet for Purdue from previous games was the decrease in turnovers; after turning the ball over 24 times against Penn State, the Boilers committed just eight on Sunday.
Purdue gets to rest until Saturday when they play #22-ranked Texas A&M in a non-conference tilt in Indianapolis.
