Purdue basketball rallies to beat Maryland

WEST LAFAYETTE – Purdue basketball bounced back from its miserable performance Thursday at Penn State.

Led by its junior trio of Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer, Purdue rallied against Maryland in the second half.

Despite a great afternoon from Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate Derik Queen (26 points, 12 rebounds), the Boilermakers overcame their first-half rebounding woes to defeat the Terrapins 83 at Mackey Arena: 78.

The Boilermakers (8-2, 1-1) improved to 6-0 at home and ended Maryland’s five-game winning streak.

When did Purdue turn the game in its favor?

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Turning point in Purdue basketball

Entering the second half, Purdue trailed by seven.

The Boilermakers, who had been struggling from 3 up until this point, turned the result in their favor with defense and outside shooting.

Fletcher Loyer made two 3s and Braden Smith added two more (plus a blocked shot) during a 12-2 run in a span of 1:57.

Maryland regained the lead several times, but Purdue used that spark to find answers the rest of the second half. It was over when Cam Heide sank a corner with 2:43 left.

Purdue basketball after a loss

Purdue has now won nine straight games after one loss.

The last time Purdue lost consecutive games was at Northwestern and Maryland on February 12 and 16, 2023. It was a stretch in which Purdue lost four of six games.

Three stars

Braden Smith, Purdue: Smith had to find his stroke and on Sunday afternoon he did. It wasn’t because he hit 3s, it was because Smith hit them. All four of his 3s in the second half felt huge. Smith finished the game with 24 points and 10 assists.

Fletcher Loyer, Purdue: Loyer shot an outstanding 18 of 33 from 3-point range in nine games. Loyer stayed strong from 3, but his seven rebounds were a boost against a bigger, more athletic Maryland team. Loyer missed his last three 3s but finished 3 of 7 from deep. He is shooting 52.5% from 3 to 10 games.

Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue: Because of two early fouls, Purdue’s center never got into a rhythm in the first half. Maryland also played solid defense, holding Kaufman-Renn to 2 of 8. He came into the game when the Boilers needed him most, scoring on three straight possessions that helped Purdue go from trailing 62-57 to leading by brought to one. Kaufman-Renn was 7 of 10 in the second half and finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.

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