Purdue gets past Argentina in World University Games opener
More ($): Analysis on Purdue-Argentina
Purdue dominated the third quarter Sunday morning, then hung on after Argentina returned the favor early in the fourth, as the Boilermakers won their World University Games opener 89-76.
Purdue got 17 points from Carsen Edwards, 16 points from Dakota Mathias, 14 from Vincent Edwards, 13 from P.J. Thompson and 11 from Isaac Haas, winning a back-and-forth sort of game thanks in part to a run of three-point shooting to open the third quarter.
But after the Boilermakers' lead hit its high-water mark, Argentina rallied and trimmed it to only six in the fourth quarter — Argentina wound up outscoring Team USA in the fourth 28-19, a disparity masked by some late points for Purdue with the game decided.
"The game was a lot of runs back and forth," Purdue coach Matt Painter told media in the post-game press conference. "We'd get a big lead and they'd come fighting back. I was really impressed with how hard Argentina played after they got down. ... They have to be commended for their fight."
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But Vincent Edwards scored on a key driving runner with 3:15 left to play to keep Argentina at arm's length and Purdue secured its first win in Taipei, in advance of tomorrow morning's contest vs. United Arab Emirates.
"We had good runs in the first half, good runs in the second half," said guard Dakota Mathias said in the press conference. "But we have to string those together. We can't have lapses like we did. When we get a big lead like that, we have to push it out. We can't let them get back in a game like that. They have good players who can make shots and we let them get their heads up."
Purdue did start strong, though, leading 26-14 after the first quarter.
"We were just in rhythm and sharing the basketball," assistant coach Greg Gary told GoldandBlack.com from Taipei. "Then it was a game of spurts because we did the same thing in the second half, then would kind of forget how we got the lead by sharing the basketball, executing and making them play defense. When we didn't do those things, that's when (Argentina) made those runs."
The unevenness from one quarter to the next has been a trend through Purdue's exhibitions in the U.S. and its scrimmage against Norway.
"Every team does better when shots are falling," Gary said, referring to Purdue's strong start to the third. "We have to learn, when they're not falling, to still be able to defend, still be able to grind it out and if you're going to give up a run, instead of it being a 12-0 run, it's just four or six. When we have a bad possession, we have to correct it quicker, instead of stringing four or five them together."
Carsen Edwards led the Boilermakers with 17 points, on 6-of-16 shooting, with five steals.
Purdue shot just 41 percent and was only 9-of-32 from three-point range, but did contribute to 20 Argentina turnovers and won the boards 47-35.
Haas' 11 points and eight rebounds came despite foul problems — he had three at the end of the first quarter — a bit of an issue through Purdue's World University Games activities thus far. But in his place, Jacquil Taylor again played well, giving the Boilermakers five points, eight rebounds and some important passes in just under 16 minutes.
Freshman Nojel Eastern paced the newcomers with six points on 3-of-4 shooting, with four rebounds, but he also committed four turnovers in 12-and-a-half minutes.
Collectively, Purdue was guilty of 21 turnovers, at least eight of them of the charge/player control variety.
"I think this was an adjustment for us, a good adjustment for us, to see how good Argentina is and how hard they played," said Painter, whose staff has been scouting potential upcoming opponents, probably making the Argentina game the last it will play against an opponent it hasn't seen. "They caused us some problems. We had more turnovers than we normally have. We have to do a better job taking care of the ball. There's a lot to learn from this game. We had some really good stretches, but also had some really tough stretches as well."
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