Written by Adrian Beecher
LOUISVILLE, KY- The Purdue Boilermakers watched an 18 point 2nd half lead dissipate and turn into overtime before they were able to seal the deal 90-84 against the 3rd seeded Tennessee Vols on Thursday evening at the KFC Yum Center.
Here’s how it all went down in Sweet Sixteen action in the South Region!
Tennessee won the tip and immediately got to work, as Jordan Bone drained a triple. The Boilermakers answered as Matt Haarms got on the board to start a 6-0 run.
The Vols kept things close and as we reached the under 16-minute media timeout, Purdue held a slim 9-7 advantage. Out of the timeout, Purdue pushed their lead to 6 as Trevion Williams got two baskets.
However, back-to-back triples from Tennessee’s Jordan Bowden would tie it up at 13. Then the Boilermakers got back to work, a layup and a triple from Carsen Edwards. Aaron Wheeler got in on the action with a triple of his own as Purdue opened up an 8 point lead with 11:39 left in the half. Wheeler would slam home a dunk off a fast break to push the Boilermaker run to 10.
With 8:34 left to play, Grant Williams punt an end to the run for the Vols. However, the Boilers answered right back as Edwards drained a
Another triple from Bowden cut the deficit to just 8 for Tennessee with 7:16 left in the half. However, the Boilermakers slowly but surely continued to extend their lead. With 5:03 left, Grady Eifert drained his first bucket of the day with a triple to put Purdue on top by 12. Then back to back tiples from Edwards mad it a 15 point lead for Purdue with 2:27 left in the half.
That would be the final points of the first half for the Boilermakers. The Vols wouldn’t do much better, tacking on just a layup and a free throw as the Boilermakers went into the locker room with a 40-28 lead over Tennessee.
To start the second half, Purdue started with the ball, but it was the Vols getting a basket first as Admiral Schofield put in a jumper to trim the deficit to 10. The Boilers answered as
With 16:45 left in the game, Ryan Cline drained a triple and then followed that up with a jumper extending the lead to 18. An 8-2 run from the Vols followed as they trimmed the deficit to 12 with 14:27 on the clock.
Tennessee kept the pressure on after a triple from Cline, by draining a triple of their own and collecting an and one. Then after a Boilermaker turnover, Lamonte Turner put in an easy fast break layup to cut the deficit to just 9 with 13:19 left to play.
As Purdue remained hot from long range, a triple from Wheeler with 12:02 left to play pushed the lead back to 14. The Vols weren’t going away though, as they put together an 11-0 run to trim the deficit to just 3 with 7:51 left to play.
The Vols kept the pressure on and with 5:25 left to play, the Vols took the lead with a triple from Schofield. Then the final 5:04 were pure pandemonium.
Cline answered with a triple to tie the game up at 70. Tennessee regained the lead almost immediately. Cline would drain two more triples for the Boilers as they took a 1 point lead with 2:46 left to play.
The Vols answered with a triple from Schofield, taking the lead at 78-76 with 2:29 left to play. After Tennessee went up 3 with 1:07 left to play, Cline yet again hit a triple with just 37 seconds left in the game at 80.
On Tennessee’s ensuing possession, Grant Williams snagged an offensive rebound and slammed home the put back to give the Vols
Down at the other end, with time ticking down, Edwards put up a triple that came up short. However, he was fouled and went to the line to shoot three free throws. The first one was a miss, but he drained the final two, giving the ball to Tennessee with the game tied and only 1.7 left on the clock.
The Vols weren’t able to get a shot off as
In overtime, Purdue was quick on the attack. Haarms got to the line and made one of two. Then after a failed Vols trip, Nojel Eastern put in a second chance layup to give the Boilers a 85-82 lead.
Tennessee cut the deficit to one with two free throws at the other end from Kyle Alexander. However, then the Boilers drained two free throws and Edwards put in a layup to push the lead to 5 for Purdue. After yet another failed trip for the Vols, Haarms dunked in one, giving Purdue the 91-84 advantage with only 1:38 left in overtime.
The Vols continued to fight, but were only able to trim the deficit to as little as 5 down the stretch as the foul game soon ensued. The Boilermakers held on for a 99-94 win to punch their ticket into the Elite Eight.
Purdue now awaits the winner of Virginia and Oregon, whom they will play with the winner heading to the Final Four!
