Purdue got a little more than it bargained for in its season opener against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, getting tested in the second half before pushing away, 90-73.

On a night where Purdue unveiled its second Final Four banner in the rafters of Mackey Arena, the Purdue fans had a lot to cheer for early.



A 9 of 13 from three first half covered up Purdue's 9 first half turnovers and had Purdue leading comfortably, 49-33, behind 14 Myles Colvin points and 9 Braden Smith assists but in the second half Purdue's shot stopped falling while the turnovers contined.

After a Dian Wright-Ford and-1, Corpus Christi had cut Purdue's lead to 68-64 with just over 7 minutes left to play. Then Gary Clark hit Corpus Christi's 6th three-pointer of the game to get it within one possession, 70-67.

Then Purdue's big men got cooking. True freshman Daniel Jacobsen would flush a lob from Fletcher Loyer with two hands, and Trey Kaufman-Renn would get around his defender in the post for a lay up. The two baskets would push Purdue's lead to 74-67. Gicarri Harris would force an offensive foul on the next possession.

Jacobsen would finish another lob, this time from Braden Smith, who realized Corpus Christi's defense wasn't back after a made bucket and Smith attacked in transition and Purdue would take an 81-71 lead with 3:30 to play.



Purdue would finish any hope for an upset when Smith found Trey Kaufman-Renn on the short roll who would find Gicarri Harris in the corner for his first three of his career to push the game to 15 points.



Purdue's big three shined despite the closer than anticipated final score.



Fletcher Loyer was flawless in the first half, and finished the game with 21 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor and 3 of 5 shooting from three.



Trey Kaufman-Renn was dominant with the ball and made good decisions passing, he had 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists.



Braden Smith started his All-American campaign strong, nearly going for a triple-double in the first action of the season. Smith finished the game with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 15 assists, one assist shy of his career-high.



Off the bench, Myles Colvin provided a huge spark in the first half, scoring 14 and knocking down four three-pointers.

Daniel Jacobsen also had a successful introduction to college basketball, playing well late, and finishing the game with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks.



Purdue was 11 of 26 from three for the game, but 16 turnovers kept Corpus Christi in it for most of the second half.