Back at home: Purdue breaks through for comfortable win over Ohio

WEST LAFAYETTE - Once again, a return to the home court brought out the best version of Purdue basketball.

Behind another 30-point effort from Carsen Edwards, the Boilermakers rolled to a 95-67 victory over Ohio at Mackey Arena.
Purdue remained unbeaten at home this season, though it was playing in Mackey Arena for the first time since Dec. 6. The Boilermakers needed a victory, having lost five of their last seven, with all five losses coming on the road.
"I think we would all say we're more comfortable in Mackey," freshman guard Eric Hunter said. "The thing for us is it has to translate."
Carsen Edwards scored at every level again, hitting 10 of 16 from the field with five assists. Ryan Cline, who began to emerge from a shooting slump late in the previous game against Notre Dame, carried through for 19 points and four assists.
Hunter came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points. Other than one poor stretch of the first half, the Boilermakers also turned in one of their most productive defensive nights of the season, totaling 21 points off of 14 Ohio turnovers.
The narrative now becomes whether Purdue can replicate performances such as this on the road against Big Ten Conference competition. Those tests resume after the first of the year.
Old habits

Purdue used a 17-0 first-half run to take control early. The Boilermakers turned defense into offense, hits early 3-pointers for the first time in a couple of weeks and played some of their most cohesive basketball in a while.
Then came the same sort of defensive lapse that has undermined potentially important non-conference victories. Ohio scored on eight straight possessions, totaling 21 points in that span.
The Bobcats, who came in shooting 28.3 percent from 3, made 6 of 13 (46.2 percent) in the first half. That put them on pace to become the eighth Purdue opponent in 11 games to out-shoot the 3-point percentage they brought into the game.
Ohio leading scorer Jason Carter (19.3 points) did not score in the first half, missing four field goal tries in 14 minutes. He was primarily the assignment of senior forward Grady Eifert. However, Ben Vander Plas, who came in shooting 35.8 percent behind the arc, made 3 of 6 to fuel that Bobcat surge.
Purdue still took a 49-36 lead into halftime in part due to its own 9 pf 17 performance from 3 and 10 points off of Ohio turnovers. The Boilermakers' 1.441 points per possession were the most by an Ohio opponent all season.
Turning point

Carter finally scored, hitting a 3 early in the second half to bring Ohio within 49-39. When Grady Eifert was called for a moving screen with 18:04 left - his fourth foul - the door seemed open to a Bobcats threat.
Instead, Purdue stiffened defensively, Ohio's shots stopped falling, and the blowout hinted at earlier unfolded.
Cline's 3 with 13:23 to play pushed the Purdue lead to 20. Then on a break, he found Hunter, who splashed his third 3 of the game to make it a 23-point lead. Hunter - in his most productive game of the season - finished the next break with a dunk to give Purdue a 70-45 lead with 11:33 left.
Hunter's previous career, 10 points, high came in the season opener against Fairfield. He then scored 12 points total over the next 10 games, with eight coming in the blowout of Robert Morris. Thursday night he looked more comfortable than he had all season, hitting 4 of 5 shots from the field with two assists and no turnovers.
Ohio shot 33.3 percent from the field in the second half and made 3 of 11 from 3-point range.
Central casting

For the first time this season, Purdue coach Matt Painter altered his starting lineup. Grady Eifert drew the start at center in place of redshirt sophomore Matt Haarms, who started each of the first 11 games.
Haarms played only 11 minutes in last Saturday's loss to Notre Dame. Boudreaux posted nine points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes against the Irish. Conspicuously, both sat down the stretch while true freshman Trevion Williams excelled in his first extended role - 10 points, four rebounds, two steals and a block in nine-plus minutes.
Boudreaux provided an early spark, causing a turnover at one end and getting to the free throw line at the other before the under-16 timeout. Haarms replaced him there. Williams' first entry came with about 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
Williams again produced, posting five points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in his 11-plus minutes.