How Purdue basketball held on to beat Yale, improving to 3-0

On November 12, 2024By Littum

WEST LAFAYETTE − Three home games and three hard-fought wins against mid-major programs.

Yale was the best of the early-season pack (which is only the case until Alabama visits Friday), but Purdue basketball have found ways in crunch time to make plays.

In the first half it was Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith.

In the second, Cam Heide and Myles Colvin.

The 12th-ranked Boilermakers needed all of that in their 92-84 victory.

Purdue basketball turning point

The hot hand of NCAA tournament hero John Poulakidas makes Yale a dangerous team. The sharpshooter kept Yale within striking distance.

When Yale had its opportunity, trailing by six early in the second half and after a Purdue miss, Trey Kaufman-Renn‘s hustle was rewarded. Kaufman-Renn grabbed a rebound that appeared to be Yale’s for the taking.

Kaufman-Renn threw the ball to an open Colvin on the wing and the sophomore sank a 3-pointer to go up 54-45 with 15:22 left. Purdue wasn’t clear of the Bulldogs, but a breather was needed as the game looked like it could turn.

Exactly eight minutes into the game, Colvin’s fastbreak dunk sent Mackey Arena into a frenzy as Purdue went up by 12. But Kaufman-Renn’s hustle was emblematic of the type of games Purdue must win against better opponents.

Boiler manufacturers lack rim protector

Yale made it clear from the start that it would take advantage of the Boilermakers in their first game following the Daniel Jacobsen injury.

The Bulldogs’ first eight points came on the rim.

Yale stuck with what worked.

The Bulldogs scored 50 of their 84 points in the paint.

3 stars

Braden Smith, Purdue: In the first nine minutes of the game, Smith already had 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Purdue’s do-it-all junior point guard finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals.

Fletcher Loyer, Purdue: The yin to Smith’s yang is on an absolute heater. Purdue called timeout with 7.2 seconds left in the first half. The Boilers inbounded the ball to Loyer, who caught a pass and drained a buzzer-beater 3 to close out a 5-for-5 first half. Loyer’s only two second-half points came at the free throw line with 46 seconds left, but the Boilers needed every bit of his 12 first-half points.

John Poulakidas, Yale: The senior guard from nearby Naperville, Ill., was held in check early, but also showed the hot hand that helped the Bulldogs upset Auburn in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Poulakidas finished with 23 points and made five 3s.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.