SAN DIEGO — Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half and Camden Heide added 15 for No. 13 Purdue, which beat NC State 71-61 in the opening game of the Rady Children’s Invitational on Thursday.

It was a rematch of last season’s Final Four game, which Purdue won 63-50 before losing to UConn in the championship game.

Braden Smith had 11 points and Fletcher Loyer 10 for Purdue (6-1).

Jayden Taylor scored 15 and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield 13 for NC State (5-1).

Purdue’s largest lead was 71-56 after Heider converted a corner 3-pointer with 1:48 left.

Takeaways

NC State: The Wolfpack stayed close in the first half, trailing 33-32 at halftime, but couldn’t slow Kaufman-Renn’s inside game in the second half.

Purdue: Purdue is aiming for its fourth straight tournament title during Thanksgiving week. This is the third year in a row that the Boilermakers have headed west on a holiday weekend. Last year it won the Maui Invitational and two years ago it won the Phil Knight Legacy in Portland. The Boilermakers defeated Gonzaga in both tournaments.

Key moment

Kaufman-Renn scored Purdue’s first six points of the second half as the Boilermakers extended their lead from 33-32 at halftime to 39-34. The 6-foot-10 tall man made a layup, hit two free throws and added another layup, all in the first 2:05.

Key statistics

The Boilermakers outscored the Wolfpack 38-28, with Kaufman-Renn scoring eight goals.

Next

Purdue advances to Sunday’s championship game against the winner of Game 2 between No. 23 Mississippi and BYU.

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