The Purdue Boilermakers seemed to be headed for a fifth straight loss as they trailed the UCLA Bruins by one with just under 8:30 left, but they rallied behind a late barrage of 3-pointers to get back in the win column with a 76-66 victory.
Purdue went on a 12-0 run, powered by a trio of 3s from Camden Heide, Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith. Smith also scored seven points over the last 2:54. He hit a pull-up 3 from the top of the key that pushed the Boilermakers lead to 73-60 and felt like a dagger.
Braden Smith drains pull-up 3 pointer, extending Purdue’s lead over UCLA
Braden Smith drained a pull-up 3 pointer to extend the Purdue Boilermakers’ lead over the UCLA Bruins.
Purdue was 11-of-21 from deep for the game and 8-of-14 in the second half. Forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who led the Boilermakers with 29 points on 11-of-15 from the field, forced the Bruins to send more attention to him in the paint opening up shots for the guards.
Smith scored 23 points on 6-of-10 from 3-point range, and had eight assists. In the first half, he broke Purdue’s all-time record for assists (now 693) on a dish to Myles Colvin for a pull-up jump shot. He broke Bruce Parkinson’s record of 690, which stood for 48 years.
Braden Smith finds Myles Colvin for the assist, becoming Purdue’s all-time leader in assists
UCLA trailed 29-19 with 5:59 remaining in the first half. The Bruins cut it to 37-35 by halftime and captured the lead early in the second half. Eric Dailey Jr. punctuated their run with a poster dunk over Colvin.
UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. throws down one-handed poster in transition vs. Purdue
Dailey ended with nine points, while forward Tyler Bilodeau led UCLA with 15 points and seven rebounds. The Bruins held a 31-23 rebounding edge.
No. 20 Purdue (20-9 overall, 12-6 Big Ten) and UCLA (20-9, 11-5) went into Friday tied for fourth place and the final double-bye in the Big Ten and, with the win, the Boilermakers earned sole possession of that.
UCLA Bruins vs. No. 20 Purdue Boilermakers Highlights | FOX College Hoops
Check out the greatest moments and plays in this matchup between the UCLA Bruins and the No. 20 Purdue Boilermakers.
Purdue will host Rutgers (14-15, 7-11) on Tuesday at 4 p.m. UCLA plays at Northwestern (15-13, 6-11) on Monday at 6 p.m.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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