WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Led by transfer Jahaad Procter’s 26 points and a dominating 44 team points in the paint, Purdue basketball cruised past Green Bay 79-57 on Wednesday, November 6th.
The Boilers got to work fast with this one! Here’s how it all went down at Keady Court!
Purdue won the tip to get things underway on Wednesday night. After empty trips for both the Boilers and Green Bay to start the game, it was Purdue’s Aaron Wheeler getting the first bucket.
The defensive pressure early from Purdue was evident with three forced turnovers in the first four minutes of the game. Boiler big man Matt Haarms drained a triple with 17:06 on the clock to make it 8-0.
Green Bay was then able to get on the board on a second chance jumper from Kameron Hankerson. That, however, was their lone score in the first seven minutes of the game. After this, Purdue pushed their lead at 14-2. The Phoenix wasn’t going down without a fight, though. A layup from Amari Davis started an 8-0 run, as Green Bay clawed their way back in.
Purdue quickly struck back, going on an 8-0 run of their own, to put them up 20-10. Manny Patterson but a slight break on the bleeding with a layup for Green Bay. However, what then ensued was an 11-4 run by the Boilers to make it 31-16 with 3:14 left to play.
As the first half came to a close, led by Haarms 11 points, PU had a 35-22 lead over Green Bay. They did outrebound GB as well, 20-15, and led in assists slightly 4-2. However, an area of ailment was turnovers, with nine, something that Boiler head coach Matt Painter talked with the playera about during the break.
“He definitely talked about it!, explained Haarms. Before the game, he talks about our goal, which is to turn it over less than tour times at the half. That was definitely too many. We started off the first half sloppy. He talked about in overall terms, starting off the 2nd half right.”
In the second half, they managed to significantly eliminate this issue with only two turnovers. Getting to all the action in the half, it was Green Bay getting on the board first, as Josh McNair put in a layup. The Boilers wouldn’t get their first bucket of the half for a minute and a half into the action. However, it was well worth the wait as Eric Hunter Jr. drained a triple that extended the lead to 14.
The Phoenix tried mightly to stay in this one, though. They were able to trim it back down to 10 as Trevian Bell drained a triple, 4:11 into the second half. However, Purdue answered with a #HammerDown in the form of a 10-1 run to make it 53-34 with 12 minutes left to play in the half.
After Green Bay rallied a bit, Purdue again flexed their muscle. Then Haarms hit his 2nd triple of the evening with 4:40 to play, giving Purdue their first 20 point lead of the game. This was really the mood point in terms of momentum swings. The lead would go as high as 24 and not drop below 20 during the final stretch.
As the final buzzer sounded, it was a successful season opener, because it’s a win. However, there are certainLY things the Boilers will need to improve on if they plan to make another deep run in the NCAA Tourney.
As forementioned, High Point transfer, Jahaad Procter, led the team in scoring with 26. Haarms had the 2nd most points, adding 16, while domination with seven of a team total nine blocks. Aaron Wheeler was board man for the evening with a team-high nine rebounds of the team total of 38. Also, leading the teams in assists was Eric Hunter Jr.
One thing to note is that of the health of Nojel Eastern. There were no updates to his status post-game; however, during the game, he had to come out twice for apparent injuries. His presence is essential in the grand scheme of things.
The Boilermakers’ next game will be Saturday, November 9th, when they welcome the Texas Longhorns to Mackey Arena. The two teams tussled last season in Austin, with the Horns taking the four-point win. The two have played four times over the years, with the Boilers lone win coming in round one of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm and set to air on FS1.
Written by Adrian Beecher
