Braden Smith ignites second-half surge as No. 1 Purdue survives Oakland's upset bid

There was one remedy for what was ailing the Boilermakers during the first half Friday night.

Press the Braden Smith takeover button.

The preseason national player of the year put top-ranked Purdue on his shoulders in the second half and helped coach Matt Painter’s team avoid an embarrassing loss, outlasting Oakland 87-77 at Mackey Arena.

A first half that saw the Boilermakers dominated on the boards and open looks from 3-point range bounce off the rim, Smith did what he does best – push the ball in transition and either find his teammates or attack the rim. Sometimes he did both.

Smith had a pair of traditional three-point plays in the first four minutes as Purdue pulled away from a 35-35 tie at the break. Smith continued to put the pressure on the Grizzlies, who didn’t have an answer for the All-American point guard.

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PURDUE COACH MATT PAINTER

PURDUE’S FLETCHER LOYER AND OSCAR CLUFF

But Smith, who led five players in double figures with 20 points, needed help.

Liam Murphy, the transfer from North Florida, found his shooting in the second half, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 62-55.

But Oakland continued to hang around, spurred by its 1-3-1 defense. That same defense was shredded by Michigan, which scored 121 points and hit 19 3-pointers earlier this week.

Purdue had three seven-point leads over a four-minute stretch but couldn’t put the Grizzlies away until Fletcher Loyer and C.J. Cox drained back-to-back 3-pointers with under three minutes to play. Cox needed stitches after receiving a cut on his face moments following the opening tip.

Oscar Cluff was more involved after halftime, scoring 11 of his 14 points.

In the end, though, it was Smith who delivered the victory. His deep 3-pointer in front of the Purdue bench equaled the biggest lead at 76-67 and Cluff’s free throw extended the advantage to double digits for the first time.

“He was huge,” said Loyer, who scored 15 points on three 3-pointers. “It’s a strange zone, something you hardly ever see. But he started to get downhill. He started to attack those two guards up top. When you’ve got such a good passer getting downhill and creating space, he’s going to find his people, and he starts scoring the ball. That opened up a lot for us.”

Purdue slowly chipped away at the rebounding deficit, pulling with three in the first 10 minutes. Smith was a factor on the boards, along with Jack Benter, who made his second consecutive start in place of Trey Kaufman-Renn.

The Boilermakers certainly missed Kaufman-Renn’s presence on the boards but there’s enough on this roster to avoid what happened Friday. Throughout the game, the Grizzlies outhustled Purdue to the ball and kept possessions alive.

Friday’s overall performance left a mixed bag of emotions heading into next week’s matchup at Alabama.

“We just beat Oakland by 10 points. Credit to them. They played a great game,” Loyer said. “But if we’re supposed to be the No. 1 team in the country, we’ve got to be better than that. It starts on the defensive end.

“Shots didn’t go in, but shots aren’t always going to go in. That’s just how it goes down. We’ve got to be better on defense and can’t let them get downhill.”

REBOUNDING ASSESSMENT: “VERY AVERAGE”

Two games. Two subpar rebounding performance.

Does the return of Kaufman-Renn solves the issues on the boards? Maybe.

Painter added more rebounding muscle in the offseason by bringing in the 6-foot-11 Cluff, who brought a bigger presence in the second half. The Boilermakers faced a 10-rebound deficit in the first half, an early trend that needs fixed.

Cluff called the rebounding in the first two games, “very average. I think we’ve got a long way to go.”

Painter said his team must embrace the physicality every night, something that didn’t happen in the first half against the Grizzlies.

“Obviously, it’s not great right now, but I think we have a lot of room for improvement,” Cluff said.

The key in the second half was production from the guards.

Smith finished with seven, which allowed the senior to trigger the transition game and push the ball to the rim. Benter also pulled down seven – all on the defensive end.

“I think you saw the second half, our guards did a much better job,” Painter said. “I thought Oscar was quick to the ball. We had a couple that he probably should have got, but I thought his effort was good. I didn’t think anybody else’s effort was really that good until the second half.”

Once the Boilermakers made a committed to rebounding, they were able to create separation from Oakland, which received 21 points and 12 rebounds from Ziare Wells.

“That one stretch in the second half, that’s where we went on the run,” Painter said. “We were able to get stops and get rebounds.”

POWER FOWARD PRODUCTION

Point to Murphy’s consecutive 3-pointers that pushed the Boilermakers in the right direction.

Oakland had pulled within 56-55, but Murphy hit a pair from beyond the arc in a span of 49 seconds and Purdue had a seven-point with 11:10 to play. From there, Murphy’s shooting success trickled through the rest of the team.

Loyer made two 3-pointers and Smith and Cox each added one as the Boilermakers built a 14-point advantage with 2:54 left.

After missing his first three attempts from 3-point range, Murphy drained three straight. It started with a long-range basket at the end of the first half.

Murphy finished with 11 points, hitting 3 of 6 from 3-point range.

“That’s what he can do – there’s no hesitation,” Painter said.  “He missed his first couple, and he makes that one at the end of the first half, but that stretch right there where it’s about a one a possession game … that gives us a lift.”

With Kaufman-Renn sidelined, the production from the power forward spot played a role in the victory. Murphy and Benter combined for 22 points and six 3-pointers, numbers Painter welcomes.

“We’ve got to do a better job of helping them through matchups, but you see where it helps us on the offensive end,” Painter said. “That’s where we’ve got to shore it up. But give Liam credit. It’s tough to do, but he proves that he’s a prolific shooter.”

“WE EXECUTED REALLY WELL”

In the opener against Evansville, Purdue made 13 3-pointers.

On Friday, the Boilermakers once again hit 13 from beyond the arc.

The path to 13, though, was much different.

Behind Loyer’s making 7 of 8 against the Purple Aces, Purdue shot 42.3%. Against the Grizzlies, Purdue attempted 35 3-pointers and connected on 37.1%. From 5 of 20 in the first half to 8 of 15 in the second half, the Boilermakers took a trip on the shooting rollercoaster.

“We really executed well,” Painter said. “In the first half, we got really good looks, and if we played this game again, this score would not be the same, but ball didn’t go in, and that’s part of the game.

“When the ball doesn’t go in – who are you? In the first half, we weren’t very good, and you’ve got to be able to rebound at that time and be stingy and embrace the physicality of the game.”

As much as Painter preaches to his players to avoid playing through their offense, it’s a trap they fall into on occasion. And they’ll probably do it against at different times throughout the season.

“I thought they were quicker to the ball in the first half,” Painter said. “I thought their physicality in the first half was better than us. Then the second half, we picked it up a little bit, but we also shot better in the second half.

“We can’t sit there and balance our energy level on whether the ball goes in or not. We’ve got to find energy through our effort and through defense and through rebounding.”