Brandon Walker for Urban Media Today
College Park, MD—Fletcher Loyer scored 29 points and made seven three-pointers as No. 12 Purdue led wire-to-wire and snapped its three-game losing streak with a resounding victory, 93-63 over Maryland on Sunday afternoon at the XFINITY Arena. Maryland has dropped its third consecutive game and is off to its worst start in conference play since the 1988-1989 season, when it also started 1-9 in the ACC.
Trey Kaufman-Renn began the game with a post up basket for Purdue (18-4, 8-3 Big Ten) with a five-foot hook shot, followed by a basket from Darius Adams. Loyer hit two three-pointers to give Purdue a 10-2 advantage to start the game, going into the first media timeout of the game. Purdue continued its onslaught with baskets by Braden Smith and Daniel Jacobson to push Purdue to 12 at 19-7 at the second media timeout.
Maryland (8-13, 1-9 Big Ten) could not muster any offense due to turnovers, and Purdue continued to use its size advantage to dominate the boards as it maintained a double-digit lead throughout the duration of the half. The only factor that was keeping this game from being a complete runaway was Andre Mills’ shooting in the first half, with two three-pointers in back-to-back possessions. Purdue then scored back-to-back three-pointers by Smith and Loyer, and by the end of the first half, Purdue held a 49-28 advantage.
Purdue shot 59 percent from the floor in the first half and made nine three-pointers. Purdue also held a 20-7 rebounding advantage, had 11 points off turnovers compared to two for Maryland, and had 16 second-chance points to three for Maryland.
Maryland tried to show some fight as the second half began, as Solomon Washington made baskets on consecutive possessions, followed by a three-point play from Mills on a cutback; however, Purdue continued to maintain its advantage with plays from Smith and Loyer, as it cruised to a landslide victory.
Smith scored 19 points and had a game-high six assists for Purdue. Gicarri Harris added 12 points. Kaufman-Renn added seven points and 10 rebounds. For Maryland, Mills led the team with 18 points, followed by Adams with 17 points and Washington with 14 points.
SMITH JOINS ELITE COMPANY
In the first half, Smith became the fifth player in NCAA history to score 1750 career points and 950 career assists. Smith joins Bobby Hurley, Keith Jennings, Greg Anthony, and Sherman Douglas. He is the only player in this elite group to have at least 500 rebounds.
Purdue will host Oregon on Saturday afternoon, while Maryland will host Ohio State on Thursday evening.
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