Purdue’s defense overwhelms Saint Peter’s
It’s amazing how one simple defensive directive destroyed Saint Peter’s.
And reaffirmed Purdue’s faith in itself after losing its final two Big Ten games.
“The main thing we talked about as guards was not letting that first pass go through,” said Purdue guard Ryne Smith. “When you take that pass away, it’s hard for teams to get into their offense and get into their flow.”
With Purdue ruining everything St. Peter’s wanted to do, the third-seeded Boilermakers cruised to a 65-43 win Friday night in Southwest regional second-round play.
Purdue’s overplaying man-to-man forced 7 turnovers in the first eight minutes and limited the Peacocks to 20 points in the first 25 minutes.
It wasn’t a Saint Peter’s first-half possession without coach John Dunne turning to his bench in disgust because his guys either couldn’t run the play he called or they cranked up a tough shot way too quickly.
“They sped us up,” said Saint Peter’s senior point guard Nick Leon. “They took us out of rhythm. Usually we just flow and today we didn’t flow. There wasn’t no flow.”
Purdue (26-7) didn’t exactly resemble running water at its offensive end.
E’Twaun Moore led everyone with 19 points, but he hit 7 of 15 shots and committed 7 turnovers.
JaJuan Johnson piled up 16 points and 16 rebounds, but he shot 6 of 16 from the field.
Yet, when the prodigious senior duo went to the bench for good with 4:24 to go, they had 35 points to the Peacocks’ 36.
“Today (Moore) had some careless turnovers,” said Purdue coach Matt Painter. “He could have even had a better game than he actually did.
“He didn’t let some things come to him. When he lets things come to him, he’s one of the best guards in the country.”
Perhaps Moore felt he needed to do more with sixth man Kelsey Barlow suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and backup guard John Hart out with a foot problem.
Their absences forced point guard Lewis Jackson to play 33 minutes — his second-highest total of the year. He provided 12 points, 3 assists, 2 steals and ferocious perimeter defense.
Freshman guard Terone Johnson came off the bench to deliver 8 points and 4 assists in 25 minutes — one minute off his career-high.
If the Boilers are going to handle the pressure in Sunday’s third-round game, they’re going to need Jackson and Johnson to handle similar workloads.
“If they get hurt, it’s going to be because of their depth,” Dunne said. “If they stay out of foul trouble and their lack of depth doesn’t hurt them, then I think they’re really, really good.
“They’ve got a great shot.”
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