No. 11 Purdue beats IUPUI 80-53, improves to 9-0

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) For almost 27 minutes Monday night, No. 11 Purdue looked somewhat ordinary, leading IUPUI by only eight points.

But as unbeaten teams with superior size and talent usually do, the Boilermakers used a big run - 24-1 over the next 7:42 - and pulled away to an 80-53 victory.

A.J. Hammons scored 14 points, Kendall Stephens added 13 and Caleb Swanigan had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Boilermakers (9-0), while Vince Edwards and Isaac Haas added 10 points each.

Purdue is 9-0 for the first time since the 2009-10 team began the season 14-0.

Darell Combs led IUPUI (3-7) with 14 points.

''They played harder in the first half than we did,'' Purdue coach Matt Painter said. ''But in that big run, we got a string of stops, got some blocks, we were able to get out in transition and made some free throws. We did a good job defensively in that stretch.''

A layup by Hammons and two free throws from Stephens pushed the Boilermakers' lead to 53-41 with 12:10 remaining. Three more field goals from Hammons and a steal and dunk by Edwards gave Purdue a 61-42 advantage with 10:01 to play.

Stephens followed with a 3-pointer, Edwards and Hammons made three of four free throws and Stephens made a short jumper for the 69-42 lead. A layup by Johnny Hill and two free throws by P.J. Thompson made it 73-42.

''Unfortunately, we were trying to hit a home run in their big run,'' IUPUI coach and former Arizona star guard Jason Gardner said. ''They blocked a couple of shots, and that got their crowd into it.

''I thought we moved the ball well in the first half and competed the whole way, but they wore us down in the second half.''

Purdue shot 51.9 percent from field (28 of 54), including 57.7 percent during the pivotal second half in which the Boilermakers outscored the Jaguars 42-23. IUPUI shot 32.8 percent (20 of 61). The Jaguars had nine shots blocked.

''Coming into this game, our focus wasn't really on offense,'' said Swanigan, a freshman power forward and McDonald's All-America who is averaging a team-leading 9.3 rebounds. ''Rebounding and playing defense are things you can always do when your shots aren't falling. I try to play as hard as I can every night. You can control your effort every night.''

With Swanigan and fellow big men Hammons and Haas dominating inside, Stephens provided perimeter help with three long 3-pointers.

''(Shooting) has been a struggle the first few games for me, but it definitely was great getting out of it tonight,'' Stephens said. ''The biggest thing is winning. Winning cures a lot of mistakes. Fortunately, I finally was able to get some shots to go down.''

The Boilermakers outscored the Jaguars 16-8 during the opening half's final 7:34 to lead 38-30 at halftime. Swanigan had nine points, eight rebounds, two assists and no turnovers in 15 solid first-half minutes, and Haas added seven points.

Purdue entered the game leading the Big Ten in rebounding with 46.0 a game, but IUPUI stayed within striking distance in the first half by outrebounding the Boilermakers 20-16.

TIP-INS

IUPUI: The Jaguars' active roster includes four returning letterwinners, four eligible Division I transfers and four freshmen. ... IUPUI has only one victory all-time against a Big Ten team, defeating Northwestern 56-53 during 2002-03. ... Gardner, an Indianapolis native, was heavily recruited to play at Purdue.

Purdue: Hammons was selected Big Ten Player of the Week after contributing 24 points and 12 rebounds in a victory at Pittsburgh and 16 points and 11 rebounds in a victory against New Mexico. ... On the 74th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Purdue honored longtime Boilermaker fan and Pearl Harbor survivor James Dewitt, Sr., 92, during a brief pregame ceremony.

MASH UNIT

For the fourth consecutive game, Purdue played without starting guard Rapheal Davis, the team's No. 3 scorer (11.6) and the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, who has a sprained knee.

However, Painter said after the game that Davis could have played Monday night and very likely will return to action Wednesday night when Purdue hosts Howard.

STAT LINES

After a four-game stretch during which he made only 4 of 27 attempts from 3-point range, Stephens made 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and scored 13 points. Including the IUPUI game, Stephens is 21 of 65 from beyond the arc (32.3 percent). His 21 made 3s lead the Boilermakers.

UP NEXT

IUPUI visits Missouri State on Thursday.

Purdue hosts Howard on Wednesday.