11/04/25 07:35:00
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11/04 19:30 CST Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith team up to lead No. 1 Purdue to
82-51 rout of Evansville in opener
Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith team up to lead No. 1 Purdue to 82-51 rout of
Evansville in opener
By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) --- Fletcher Loyer opened his final college season by
scoring a career high 30 points and preseason All-American Braden Smith added
11 assists as Purdue protected its first preseason No. 1 ranking with a rousing
82-51 season-opening rout over Evansville on Tuesday night.
Loyer was 8 of 11 from the field and made seven 3-pointers. Smith scored just
six points but passed former Illinois star Bruce Douglas for third on the Big
Ten's career assists list. Smith increased his total to 769, four more than
Douglas. Former Michigan State guard Matten Cleaves is second at 816.
Purdue has won 33 consecutive non-conference home games --- this one despite
playing without preseason all-conference forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who missed
the game with an injured hip.
Joshua Hughes had 15 points and AJ Casey added 14 for Evansville, which faced
the Boilermakers for the first time in 20 years. Defending Missouri Valley
Conference Defensive Player of the Year Connor Turnbull also sat out for an
undisclosed reason.
Without Turnbull, Purdue made this one look easy even though it played raggedly
at times --- missing shots at the rim, struggling to grab rebounds and just
getting into a normal flow.
But the Boilermakers managed to take control with an early 11-0 run and then
closed the first half by scoring the final five points to make it 41-22. They
started the second half on a 12-0 spurt that made it 53-22 as Hall of Fame
coach Gene Keady and former Purdue guard Lance Stephenson watched from the
stands.
The Boilermakers were 13 of 29 on 3s.
Up next
Evansville: Heads home to take on Calumet College of St. Joseph on Friday.
Purdue: Hosts Oakland on Friday.
___
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