Purdue wins its second game of the season, handling the Norse 72-50 behind another efficient night from Fletcher Loyer.
As with Purdue's first game in the season, Purdue's offense got it going early, jumping out to an 18-4 lead five minutes into the game after scoring on its first four possessions, including knocking down its first three three-pointers.
Purdue's team did take a hit early with true freshman, starting center, Daniel Jacobsen going down with what appeared to be a shin contusion on the secnod possession of the game just below the knee that had him on crutches on the bench for the rest of the game.
As it did in the first game, Purdue's offense went through a dry spell that included over five minutes without a field goal.
Northern Kentucky responded by scoring 9 straight points, pulling the game to 21-16.
But Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Renn re-entered the game and turned two straight Purdue misses into buckets by attacking the offensive glass.
Purdue's defense, unlike against Texas A&M CC, never faltered. Raleigh Burgess helped force a miss shot on one end, and at the other, Braden Smith found Myles Colvin for an alley-oop lay up in transition.
Myles Colvin would add a corner three at the end of the first half to give Purdue a 37-22 lead.
Fletcher Loyer would continue his hot shooting to start the season, opening the second half with a corner three. He'd finish the game going 4 of 5 from three which has him at 7 of 10 from three through two games. Loyer's 16 points led the team for the second time this season.
Despite a relatively quiet night from Braden Smith (11 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists), the Boilers built on its lead in the second half. Will Berg had back to back baskets to help extend the lead, and a Fletcher Loyer lay up after an over the head pass by Gicarri Harris put Purdue up 66-40 with just over four minutes to play all but sealed the game and put the starters on the bench to watch the final bit of action.
Trey Kaufman-Renn finished the game with an efficient 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the floor, getting to the line 8 times and making 6 of them.
No other Boiler was in double-figures.
Daniel Jacobsen exits early
True freshman Daniel Jacobsen was injured in the second possession of the game for Purdue when it appeared he collided knees with a Northern Kentucky player. Jacobsen went down to the ground immediately. He got up fairly quickly, but it was clear he wasn't comfortable putting wait on it and was helped off the floor. He made his way to the locker room and returned later in the first half with an ice pack on his knee and crutches under his arms. The talented true freshman had 13 points and 6 rebounds in his first career game.
Good defensive effort despite rebounding differential
Purdue got in the habit of winning most rebounding battles over the last few years, but Purdue struggled to finish possessions against the Northern Kentucky Norse.
Purdue was even on the glass with Northern Kentucky with 33 rebounds for each team.
Purdue continues to shoot the ball well from 3
Led by Fletcher Loyer's 4 of 5 shooting and Braden Smith's 3 of 7 from three, the Boilers had another successful night from the perimeter. Purdue knocked down 9 of 22 three-point attempts as a team.
Turnover issues
Purdue had 13 team turnovers and forced 13 turnovers.
With Jacobsen out, Furst makes most of opportunity
With Jacobsen out early in this one, Purdue's bigs got a little more run than normal. No one took more advantage of that than Caleb Furst who was aggressive on the offensive end. He was 4 of 6 from the floor and scored 8 points while grabbing 2 rebounds in 12 minutes. The only blemish on his stat sheet is accounting for 3 of Purdue's 13 turnovers.
