12/29/21 Nicholls, Jaden Ivey

Sophomore guard Jaden Ivey holds onto the rim after a dunk against Nicholls. Ivey had 19 points on 5 of 9 from the field – including 3 of 6 from 3-point range – and 6 of 8 from the line.

 Lichao Shen | Staff Photographer

In its final game of 2021, the No. 3 Purdue men’s basketball team controlled the high-paced tempo for the most part against Nicholls, winning 104-90 Wednesday evening in Mackey Arena.

It marked the Boilermakers’ (12-1, 1-1 Big Ten) first 100-point game since a February 2020 match against Iowa.

The Boilers ended the pre-season undefeated –  the fourth time in program history.

“As far as nonconference games, we did what needed to be done," sophomore center Zach Edey said. "We put ourselves in the best position to succeed."

Despite a rusty start, the Boilermakers’ hot hands from beyond the arc pushed a 20-0 run, which included four 3-point shots, with 12 minutes left in the first half. They never lost the lead afterward.

By the half, Purdue built a 19-point margin, 55-36. The Boilers shot 58.6 percent in the first 20 minutes including 11 of 19 from 3-point distance.

“When you have shooters and a post presence like we do, we were able to get some good looks in the first half that we could sustain in the second half,” said junior guard Isaiah Thompson.

Four Boilers finished with double-digit points. Sophomore center Zach Edey and sophomore guard Jaden Ivey led the scoring barrage for Purdue, ending with 21 and 19 points, respectively. Senior forward Trevion Williams dominated the boards with 11 rebounds along with 9 points, 8 assists and no turnovers. Edey had four assists and no turnovers.

"To have 12 assists from your centers with no turnovers, that's something that's pretty rare," coach Matt Painter said. "And you have another guy who has seven assists and zero turnovers (Morton)."

The coach had high praise for Williams.

"He's magical with the basketball," Painter said. "If you cut and you move and you put yourself in a position and kind of read what the defense is doing, he'll find ya. Sometimes he sees a little too much – guys that can pass like that they try to thread the needle a little bit too much – but you can live with it. When guys are putting up those kind of numbers and generating offense that way, he's a real weapon in the low post or out on the perimeter."

In fact, Purdue had 30 assists on 35 made baskets.

"It makes it a lot of fun," said Painter, "when you got guys out there who pass the ball, share the basketball and want to set up one of their teammates."

The fast-paced Colonel offense was led by the Southland Conference Player of the Week in guard Ty Gordon, who finished with a season-high 29 points. He was 10 of 20 from the field – including 9 of 15 from 3-point range.

"Both teams obviously were pretty good offensively and both teams – it depends on how you want to look at it – were as good on the defensive end," Painter said.

"The whole thing I just asked our team at the end, 'if the ball is not going in for us, how's this game unfold? You probably lose that game."

Nicholls' crafty offense, however, was limited by the team's inability to stay out of foul trouble. Six players finished with three or more personal fouls with one – Rughe Lyons – fouling out. Nicholls was whistled for 27 fouls and Purdue 13.

Consequently, Purdue shot 16 more free throws – hitting 20 of 27 while Nicholls was only 4 of 9.

It wasn't all roses for the Boilermakers. They were outscored 24-6 in second-chance points. Nichols also had 14 offensive rebounds to Purdue's 9. However, Purdue did have a lot more points off the bench, 37-8, but 21 of those points were from Edey.

"I think you have to give Nicholls a lot of credit," Painter said. "I think they have some shot-makers, they've got some versatility – they had a guy make three 3s who hadn't made a 3 all season (Lyons was 3 for 3 from long distance) ... that really gave them a boost when he knocked those shots down for them, but Gordon is a real player. He's tough to handle."

The Boilermakers will open 2022 with a return to conference play as they take on Wisconsin next Monday in Mackey Arena at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

• Caleb Furst missed the game due to Covid protocol. "He's in the protocol now, we'll see here tomorrow," said Painter. "There's nothing definite at this point, but he's trending in the right direction."

• Purdue improved to 12-1 overall with a 104-90 victory over Nicholls in the final non-conference game of the season for the Boilermakers.

• The 104 points were the most in a non-conference game since scoring 106 against Fairfield on Nov. 18, 2017.

• The 194 combined points were the most since a 118-77 win over Florida A&M on Dec. 22, 1997.

• Purdue ends the non-conference slate with an 11-0 record, the first unbeaten non-conference season since 2009-10 (12-0) and just the fourth since the 1939-40 campaign (1992-93, 1993-94, 2009-10, 2021-22).

• Purdue won its 13th straight game in Mackey Arena and 14th straight in Mackey Arena against non-conference foes.

• Purdue recorded 30 assists on 35 made field goals against Nicholls. The 30 assists were the most since having 30 assists against Alcorn State on Nov. 17, 2010. The total is tied for the ninth most in a game in school history.

• Purdue has now scored at least 40 points in 16-of-26 halves this year, and shot at least 50.0 percent in 17-of-26 halves.

• Purdue averaged 1.51 points per possession, good for the fourth-best total in school history.

• Purdue had a 20-0 run midway through the first half, marking the second time this season that the Boilermakers have embarked on a 20-0 run or better (29-0 vs. Omaha).

• Purdue is now 51-2 since the start of the 2017-18 season when scoring at least 80 points.

• Purdue's big three of Jaden Ivey, Trevion Williams and Zach Edey combined for 49 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists, shooting 16-of-25 from the field and 14-of-19 from the free throw line.

• Purdue's center tandem of Trevion Williams and Zach Edey combined for 30 points, 16 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 blocks and no turnovers while shooting 11-of-16 from the field.

• Edey scored 21 points in 16 minutes of action and is now averaging 34.0 points and 16.7 rebounds per 40 minutes.

• Trevion Williams narrowly missed a triple-double with nine points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in 22 minutes. He has now been close to a triple-double in two of his last four games, averaging 13.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in that span.

• Williams moved into 10th on the school's career rebounds list, now with 748.

• Sasha Stefanovic's four 3-pointers give him 174 for his career, moving into 13th place on Purdue's career 3-pointers made list.

• Purdue is now 7-0 all-time when Mason Gillis scores in double-figures. He had 10 points in the win over Nicholls.

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