All-American 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey overcame a slow start to pour in 28 points while Braden Smith added 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists as the second-ranked Purdue Boilermakers held off the visiting Xavier Musketeers, 83-71, on Monday in the Gavitt Tipoff Games series.
Edey, who missed his first four shots after missing a total of four shots over his first two games, was a force in the paint, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking four shots.
Fletcher Loyer was the third and final Purdue player in double figures with 11 points in 25 minutes.
Purdue snapped a five-game losing streak to Xavier (2-1), dating back to the Boilermakers’ last win over the Musketeers on Dec. 5, 2001. While that streak ended, the Boilermakers extended two others.
Monday marked Purdue’s 27th consecutive win against a non-Big Ten opponent.
Purdue also won its 23rd straight at Mackey Arena against a nonconference foe.
Desmond Claude led Xavier with 15 points while Gytis Nemeiksa was one of three Xavier players with 10 points. Freshmen Trey Green and Dailyn Swain also had 10 points apiece for Xavier.
Nemeiksa kept Xavier close with a three with 13:34 remaining that brought the Musketeers within five, 51-46. That would be the closest Xavier would get the rest of the night.
Purdue built its lead to 10, 58-48, on a Caleb Furst 3-pointer with 11:29 remaining, part of a 14-6 run that put the Boilermakers in charge.
But the Musketeers wouldn’t fold on the road.
Xavier’s Dailyn Swain finished an uncontested fastbreak off a turnover and threw down a one-handed dunk with 3:28 left to make it 73-64.
Purdue has one week off before taking on 11th-ranked Gonzaga on Nov. 20 in the opener of the relocated Maui Classic in Honolulu. Xavier will play Washington in Las Vegas on Friday night.
–Field Level Media
