Loyer scores 27, Purdue pulls away late to beat Tennessee 71-67 in Maui Invitational
HONOLULU - Fletcher Loyer scored 27 points, Zach Edey had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds and No. 2 Purdue escaped with a 71-67 win over No. 7 Tennessee in the Maui Invitational semifinals on Tuesday.
The Boilermakers (5-0) separated in the final minutes with a game-closing 10-6 run to deny the Volunteers (4-1).
The teams were whistled for a combined 52 personal fouls and Tennessee coach Rick Barnes drew a technical foul in the first half. Subsequently, there were 78 free throws attempted; Purdue shot 29 of 48 from the line, while Tennessee went 21 of 30.
Loyer shot 7 of 18 from the field and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line. Edey made 7 of 10 field goals, but missed his first six free throws and finished 9 of 17.
The Boilermakers shot 19 of 54 from the field (35.2%), while the Volunteers were 19 of 57 (33.3%).
After he scored 13 points in the first half to help give the Volunteers a 31-30 halftime lead, Tennessee's Dalton Knecht was held to just three points after the break. Jordan Gainey scored all of his 15 points in the second half.
Purdue held a 44-31 rebounding advantage.