Freshmen Guards Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith Lead Purdue in 84-53 Win Over Milwaukee
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Making their college basketball debuts, freshman guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer helped Purdue basketball brush off a slow start in an 84-53 victory over Milwaukee on Tuesday night in Mackey Arena to open the 2022-23 season.
Smith set a program record for a first-year player with seven steals, while also adding seven points, four rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes on the floor. Loyer paced the Boilermakers with 17 points and knocked down 5-of-12 shots from the 3-point line, including four in the second half.
"It's hard to be good right away, even for someone who's talented," Purdue coach Matt Painter said of his freshman duo. "There's just a big learning curve when you first start, and they'll have those moments. There's nobody who escapes that.
"But they have a lot of similarities. They can shoot the basketball, they can pass the basketball, they have a good feel for the game. So they plug right in."
The team struggled out of the gates, unable to find consistent offense as junior center Zach Edey started 0-for-4 from the floor. But the team was solid on the defensive end of the court and only trailed once the entire contest as the Panthers claimed the opening basket.
Loyer knocked down the first shot of the season for Purdue, drilling a 3-pointer before Edey and Smith combined to score the next four points, which all came from the free-throw line. The team finished 18-of-22 on foul shots.
But shooting woes plagued the Boilermakers for most of the opening period, as it went on to miss 10 straight shots from the field. When the offense managed to make runs, they came in short spurts.
It wasn’t until Smith ignited an 8-0 burst that the team took a double-digit lead with 8:10 to play before halftime. The 6-foot freshman drilled a 3-pointer before ending the streak by lobbing an alley-oop dunk to Edey in transition.
"It was kind of crazy, just seeing everybody yell," Smith said. "You just kind of have to throw it up there and he'll go get it. You saw it, it almost hit the ceiling and he still got it. Defensively, I know I have steals, but also I was gambling and made mistakes."
Smith scored all his points in the first half, and Purdue went into the locker room on a 10-0 run and led 39-20 over Milwaukee at the break, but it was only able to make one shot from the floor in the final four minutes.
However, the Boilermakers caught fire early in the second half as junior guard Ethan Morton immediately buried a shot from beyond the arc. Loyer would also sink a trio of 3-pointers during a 15-2 run that gave Purdue a 33-point advantage.
After starting the game 1-of-7 from the floor, Loyer used the intermission to reset and settle into his first official college game. He added another triple with just over five minutes to play, giving Purdue its largest lead of the game.
"Right away, a few were just going in and out and teammates were staying in my ear telling me to keep shooting the ball," Loyer said. "Once you see a few miss like that, you're a little bit worried, but you gotta keep shooting. I know they trust me to, so I gotta knock it down when they swing it to me."
As a team, the Boilermakers shot 35.3 percent from beyond the arc. Junior guard Brandon Newman was the only other player besides Loyer to connect on multiple 3-pointers, and he finished with 16 points in 22 minutes off the bench.
But even when Purdue's offense wasn't finding the bottom of the net, the team found plenty of opportunities by poking the ball free and scoring 26 points off of 21 Milwaukee turnovers.
"It's good to get in transition and to get some steals and to get some layups," Newman said. "See the ball go through the rim and get a couple stops in a row. It's contagious."
Edey returned to form in the second half, finishing the game with 12 points while setting career-highs with 17 rebounds and six blocks. But during their very first game in West Lafayette, it was Loyer and Smith who led the charge. The Boilermakers start the 2022-23 campaign 1-0 and have now won 10 consecutive season openers.
"It's pretty wild, it almost feels like a video game out there," Loyer said. "It doesn't really feel like real life. It's pretty special when you have teammates and coaches that really trust you. It helps a ton going out there and playing your best."
Purdue will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 11, for a home game against Austin Peay. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
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