By Associated Press
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Fletcher Loyer scored 21 points to lead five players in double figures as No. 14 Purdue beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 90-73 on Monday night.
Also scoring in double figures were Trey Kaufman-Renn with 15 points, Myles Colvin with 14, Daniel Jacobsen with 13 and Braden Smith with 12. Kaufman-Renn had nine rebounds and Smith had 15 assists.
Owen Dease scored 20 for the Islanders. Garry Clark added 14 points.
The Boilermakers led 49-33 at halftime, but the Islanders got as close as three points in the second half before Purdue pulled away. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi shot 54% in the second half to get back into the game.
The Boilermakers shot 56% for the game compared to 45% for the Islanders.
Purdue hung its 2024 NCAA Final Four banner with the national finalist prior to the game. The Boilermakers made the Final Four in 1980 and 1969, finishing runner-up in ’69.
Takeaways
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: The Islanders played well in the first 14 minutes of the second half to battle back from a 16-point halftime deficit to narrow the deficit to three points.
Purdue: The Boilermakers weren’t able to put away the Islanders until the final six minutes. The Boilermakers were hurt by 16 turnovers, seven more than Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Smith committed six of those turnovers.
Key moment
After Clark’s 3-pointer narrowed Purdue’s lead to 70-67 with 6:43 remaining, Loyer fed Jacobsen for an alley-oop that woke up the crowd. Purdue held a 20-6 edge the rest of the game.
Key stat
Colvin came off the bench to score all 14 of his points in the first half.
Up next
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: Hosts Dallas Christian on Friday.
Purdue: Hosts Northern Kentucky on Friday.
Rivera, DePaul defeat Southern Indiana 80-78 in OT
CHICAGO (AP) — Isaiah Rivera led DePaul with 25 points, Jacob Meyer made a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in regulation and the Blue Demons defeated Southern Indiana 80-78 in overtime on Monday night.
Meyer scored 23 points, shooting 8 for 14 (4 for 9 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Blue Demons. David Skogman went 5 of 10 from the field (3 for 3 from 3-point range) to finish with 13 points.
The Screaming Eagles were led in scoring by Stephen Olowoniyi, who finished with 23 points and nine rebounds. Jayland Randall added 22 points for Southern Indiana. Damoni Harrison finished with 17 points and six rebounds.
Aquino’s 16 lead Liberty over Valparaiso 83-63
XENIA, Ohio (AP) — Owen Aquino had 16 points in Liberty’s 83-63 victory against Valparaiso at the Athletes in Action Tip-Off on Monday night.
Aquino also had 11 rebounds and five blocks for the Flames (1-0). Kaden Metheny scored 16 points while shooting 6 for 11, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc. Jay Maughmer went 6 of 9 from the field (2 for 3 from 3-point range) to finish with 14 points.
Tyler Schmidt led the way for the Beacons (0-1) with 17 points. Valparaiso also got 13 points from Devon Ellis. Jefferson Monegro also had 12 points.
Liberty took the lead with 14:14 left in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 42-32 at halftime, with Aquino racking up 12 points. Liberty pulled away with a 9-0 run in the second half to extend an eight-point lead to 17 points. They outscored Valparaiso by 10 points in the final half, as Metheny led the way with a team-high nine second-half points.
Butler wins 72-65 over Missouri State
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jahmyl Telfort scored 29 points as Butler beat Missouri State 72-65 on Monday night in a season opener.
Telfort shot 7 of 12 from the field, including 4 for 6 from 3-point range, and went 11 for 16 from the line for the Bulldogs. Pierre Brooks scored 13 points while going 3 of 7 and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line. Patrick McCaffery shot 3 for 9, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points.
The Bears were led by Dez White, who recorded 21 points. Zaxton King added 12 points and five assists and Jalen Hampton had 10 points and six rebounds.
Led by 16 first-half points from Telfort, Butler carried a 39-36 lead into the break. Telfort’s free throw with 6:47 left in the second half gave Butler the lead for good at 57-56.
Moretti scores 19 as Florida Atlantic downs Indiana State 97-64
XENIA, Ohio (AP) — Niccolo Moretti helped lead Florida Atlantic past Indiana State on Monday night with 19 points off the bench in a 97-64 season-opening victory.
Moretti had five rebounds for the Owls. Baba Miller scored 13 points and added nine rebounds and four steals. Leland Walker shot 5 of 8 from the field and 3 of 5 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points.
Samage Teel finished with 21 points and two steals for the Sycamores. Kmani Doughty added eight points.
Florida Atlantic took the lead with 11:07 remaining in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 53-28 at halftime.
Bello’s 16 help Purdue Fort Wayne down Bluffton 99-47
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Rasheed Bello’s 16 points helped Purdue Fort Wayne defeat Bluffton 99-47 on Monday night.
Bello added five assists for the Mastodons. Eric Mulder added 14 points while shooting 6 of 7 from the field and 2 for 3 from the line and had 11 rebounds and three steals. Corey Hadnot II had 13 points and shot 4 of 6 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.
Ian Snelling finished with 10 points for the Beavers.
