Fletcher Loyer scored 24 points on 8-for-10 shooting, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, to lead No. 20 Purdue to an 81-61 win over Minnesota in a Big Ten Conference matchup on Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Braden Smith registered 20 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for Purdue (10-4, 2-1), which won its second straight game after losing the previous two. Trey Kaufman-Renn had 17 points and Caleb Furst scored 11.
Dawson Garcia had 20 points and five rebounds to lead Minnesota (8-6, 0-3). Lu’Cye Patterson contributed 14 points and eight rebounds. Nobody else scored in double digits for the Golden Gophers.
Purdue shot 50 percent (29 of 58) from the field and 44 percent (11 of 25) from beyond the arc. Smith drilled five threes. Minnesota shot 48.1 percent (25 of 52) overall and 23.5 percent (4 of 17) from deep.
The Boilermakers enjoyed a 16-3 advantage in points off turnovers. Purdue led for more than 32 minutes and Minnesota led for only 4:22, with the remainder of the time spent tied.
The Golden Gophers played tough in the first half on their home court. They trailed 28-27 at the break as seven players got on the scoresheet in the first 20 minutes.
Minnesota grabbed a 31-30 lead with 18:46 remaining in the second half. Femi Odukale put the Golden Gophers on top with a jump shot.
That proved to be the final time Minnesota would lead.
Loyer made a 3-pointer on Purdue’s next possession to give the Boilermakers a 33-31 lead with 18:14 left. Several minutes later, Loyer assisted on a layup by Smith to boost Purdue’s advantage to 42-35 with 14:05 to go.
A pair of free throws by Furst gave Purdue a 59-45 edge with 8:02 remaining, and the ensuing media timeout did little to slow the Boilermakers’ momentum. Loyer drew a foul and made two free throws to push Purdue’s lead to 61-45 with 7:36 to play.
Minnesota played catch-up the rest of the way. Garcia cut the deficit to 72-59 on a layup with 2:39 left, which marked the Golden Gophers’ final field goal.
–Field Level Media
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