Defense, Edwards and Edwards carry Purdue in Game 2 in Spain
More ($): Thoughts on Game 2 | Larry Clisby on today's win
From Purdue: Matt Painter post-game audio
More: Game 1 report
After rallying in the second half for a win on Wednesday, Purdue had no such concerns Thursday afternoon in its 88-67 Game 2 win over Albacete in Spain.
"The guys competed and had energy," associate head coach Jack Owens said afterward. "To be able to play in this environment, with that ball and the officiating, I thought our guys played well."
Caleb Swanigan finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Vincent Edwards (who started after coming off the bench Wednesday after being late for a bus) added 15 and six assists. Carsen Edwards scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 3-of-6 from deep. P.J. Thompson and Isaac Haas added 13 for Purdue, which finished with 25 assists against a drastically reduced 16 turnovers.
Defensively, Purdue held Albacete to 37-percent shooting and forced 21 turnovers.
"We did some good things," Owens said. "We talked with our big guys about staying in line with the ball in ball-screen D and from a post-D standpoint, but we also talked with the guards about dribble containment. We have to keep the ball out of the middle of the floor and can't allow guys to get around us. We did that for the most part. ... Overall, I think our defense was better. We made them score over the top of us, for the most part."
Thompson made all three of his threes and scored 13 first-half points; Swanigan continued his outstanding play; and Carsen Edwards needed just four minutes to score eight first-half points as the Boilermakers rolled to a 56-35 halftime lead, then weathered a modest Albacete run in the third quarter and won.
"The guys came out and competed and played well," Owens said. "We were able to make some shots early in the game. Isaac and Biggie were able to establish themselves inside early on and (Ryan) Cline hit some shots from the perimeter, then Carsen came off the bench and made some, and in the second half, P.J. Thompson got it going from the perimeter as well.
"I thought overall from a defensive standpoint, from watching film and with the things we talked about, our guys were able to do some things defensively to allow us to build that lead. But then we put some guys in who haven't played much together and (Albacete) was able to crawl back in."
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