No. 24 Purdue Holds Off Pesky Northwestern, 75-70

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The point of emphasis was to finish. Mission accomplished for the Purdue Boilermakers, but it wasn't easy.

Purdue got some big plays down the stretch from freshmen Jaden Ivey, Brandon Newman and Zach Edey, and finally pulled away from Northwestern in the final two minutes, winning 75-70 on Saturday at Mackey Arena. Purdue's freshmen scored 53 of their 75 points, and four of them were in double figures.

"It's February and they've played a lot,'' Purdue coach Matt Painter said of his freshmen stepping up, especially down the stretch. "Our freshmen did a good job, and they feel comfortable in those moments.''

The Boilers had a late scare with trying to get the ball inbounds against Northwestern, but despite a pair of late turnovers, they were able to make their free throws to close out the game. Purdue made 11-of-12 free throws in the final 1:21. For the game, Purdue was 23-for-24 from the line, for 95.8 percent.

"Even with those turnovers, we just had to hang in there and get the ball inbounds,'' Ivey said. "We did that and we made our free throws. We all shoot 50 free throws after practice every day, and we're confident when we walk up there.''

Purdue (13-7 overall and 8-5 in the Big Ten) once again got stellar play from their freshman, with guard Jaden Ivey leading the way with 20 points.

"I was able to get in a flow offensively, which felt good. This game changed for me, getting in the flow early,'' Ivey said. "Everything was clicking tonight. It was a great bounce-back win for us after what happened at Maryland.''

The pleasant surprise was Zach Edey, the 7-foot-4 center who had to fill in for Trevion Williams, who was in foul trouble. Edey played 23 minutes, and had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

He made all eight of his free throws.

"I take a lot of pride in making free throws, and it's been a big part in the growth of my game,'' Edey said. "It's a big deal.

"I know we have that next man up mentality on this team, and I know when I go in, I need to step it up.

Ivey had 14 points and five rebounds in the first half alone, and was aggressive getting to the basket all day long. Purdue's game plan was to push the ball upcourt quickly whenever they could, and that worked against the Wildcats, who werer 10-for-28 from three and had a lot of long rebounds on those misses.

"They're a great three-point shooting team, but when they miss, those shots are going to go long,'' Ivey said. "That was part of our game plan, to go on their misses, and we did a good job of that.''

Here's the thing: If @BoilerBall is playing, we should all expect something special from @IveyJaden.

Well, check out today's example: pic.twitter.com/Hh8TAGwvVm
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 6, 2021

Sasha Stefanovic, a junior from Crown Point, Ind., returned for the Boilermakers after missing three games because of testing positive for COVID-19. He didn't start, but he entered the game at the 14:32 mark in the first half and played 14 minutes and change on the day. He was 0-for-4 from the field, but made all four free throws and was a controlling presence on the floor.

"It's always great to play with Sasha,'' Ivey said. "He's such a great leader and he brings a ton of energy. It's hard coming back. I know it was when I came back from my injury. It was great to have him back out there, especially on the defensive end. He knows what we're all supposed to do, and he's out talking to us all the time.

Redshirt freshman Mason Gillis had 11 points and a perfect stat line. He was 4-for-4 from the field including three three-pointers. Fellow redshirt freshman Brandon Newman, who scored a career-high 29 points in the Boilers' last home game against Minnesota, finished with 10 points.

Leading scorer Trevion Williams struggled with foul trouble most of the night and had only eight points in 15:41 of playing time. He had scored in double figures in 14 games in a row prior to Saturday. He picked up his fourth foul with 9:04 to go.

Edey was playing so well that Painter just left in out there, and Williams never returned.

Point-forward, that's Trevion's official position. 🚫👀@twill___ // @BoilerBall pic.twitter.com/ZVD8QveDrZ
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 6, 2021

Purdue had a 13-point lead late in the first half, but then the Wildcats made three consecutive three-pointers in just 55 seconds to trim the lead to 33-29 at the 1:30 mark. Chase Audige then hit another one on their final possession of the half to make it 35-32 at the break.

Purdue was already in the bonus at 12:21, and Stefanovic hit two free throws to give Purdue a 49-42 lead. They continued to get to the line the rest of the way, which made a huge difference.

Northwestern (6-10 overall and 3-10 in the Big Ten) was led by Pete Nance, who had 20 points. Chase Audige had 18.

Purdue is back in action on Thursday night at Minnesota. The Boilermakers beat the Gophers 81-62 in Mackey Arena last Saturday. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. ET.

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