Stefanovic leads Purdue's 3 brigade in 88-78 win over Irish

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Sasha Stefanovic and Eric Hunter Jr. each scored 18 points and Purdue beat Notre Dame 88-78 on Saturday in a Crossroads Classic Challenge game.

Stefanovic started the game with a 3-pointer, and with 7:12 left to play, buried a 3 for a 72-61 lead and Purdue (6-2) led by double figures the rest of the way. Stefanovic was 6-for-8 shooting including 5 for 7 from 3-point range.

Hunter finished 4 for 7 from 3-point range and distributed eight assists. Trevion Williams scored 14 points and Mason Gillis scored 12 for the Boilermakers. Purdue made half their 28 3-point attempts.

Trey Wertz led the Irish (2-4) with 27 points and made half of his 10 3-point attempts. Cormac Ryan scored 14 points, Nate Laszewski 13 and Nikola Djogo 11.

Purdue led 47-42 at halftime, and a 6-2 spurt to start the second half extended its lead to nine. Notre Dame countered with a 3 from Dane Goodwin and two more from Djogo to tie 53-53, but the Irish wouldn't gain the lead.

With the win, the Boilermakers moved their record to 33-7 in the month of December since the 2015-16 season.

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