Purdue's Veterans Step Up in 2nd Half in Boilers' Win Over Maryland

A vibe radiated throughout Mackey Arena on Sunday afternoon. Purdue trailed Maryland 36-31 and the question on everyone's mind was, "Are the Boilermakers really heading for an 0-2 start in Big Ten play?"

Shots weren't falling. Maryland was dominating the glass — particularly the post tandem of Julian Reese and Derik Queen. Things didn't get quite as ugly as what unfolded in State College earlier this week, but the first 20 minutes certainly weren't pretty.

The second half was a different story. Led by its three veterans — Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn — Purdue finally started to dial in.

It started immediately, with Loyer knocking down a triple right out of the locker room. Two minutes later, Purdue might've had the biggest momentum swing of the game.

With Maryland leading 40-34, Loyer connected on another long ball to bring the Boilers within three points. Then, Smith blocked a shot attempt by Terrapins guard Rodney Rice and hit a game-tying three-pointer at the 17:08 mark.

Maryland continued to make runs, eventually building up a five-point lead at 62-57 at the 8:25 mark. How did Purdue respond? Kaufman-Renn scored the game's next six points, putting the Boilers back on top 63-62 with 7:01 to play.

That was part of a run of 10 straight points scored by Kaufman-Renn. Smith assisted on three of those five made buckets.

Purdue took a 69-64 lead with 3:59 remaining, but Maryland's Ja'Kobi Gillespie hit a big triple to cut the deficit down to just two points. Back-to-back threes from Smith and Cam Heide gave Purdue an eight-point lead with under three minutes to play, ultimately sealing the game.

The Boilers exited the court at Mackey Arena with an 83-78 victory and a .500 record in Big Ten play. When the final buzzer sounded, the veteran trio on Purdue's roster accounted for 57 of the team's 83 points.

Smith ended the game with 24 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, two steals and one significant block. Kaufman-Renn had 21 points and eight rebounds and Loyer concluded his night with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Maryland was led by Queen, who had 26 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Gillespie had 18 points and Selton Miguel and Rice each had 13.

After Purdue's dreadful performance against Penn State on Thursday, coach Matt Painter talked about the play of the veterans. Maybe they weren't responsible for all the ugliness in an 81-70 loss, but he knew Smith, Kaufman-Renn and Loyer have to play better for his team to win big games.

"It starts with them," Painter said Thursday. "They play the most minutes, they've been the most productive, they've had really good careers. But you've got to be good in your next game, no matter what's happened."

It's safe to say Smith, Loyer and Kaufman-Renn heard their coach's message and helped Purdue pick up its first Big Ten win on Sunday.

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