No. 19 Purdue makes 13 first-half 3s, crushes Fairfield (Nov 18, 2017)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) Dakota Mathias, Vince Edwards and P.J Thompson combined for 46 first-half points and No. 19 Purdue made 13 of 18 shots from 3-point range before halftime, crushing Fairfield 106-64 on Saturday night.
Mathias, Edwards and Thompson - all seniors - were a collective 13 of 15 from beyond the arc during the first 20 minutes when the Boilermakers (4-0) built a commanding 58-28 lead against the previously unbeaten Stags (2-1).
At the half, Mathias had 18 points, Edwards 16 and Thompson 12. Mathias finished with a game-best 23 points, Vince Edwards had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Carsen Edwards scored 18 with six assists and Thompson finished with 12 points.
Fairfield, which entered allowing only 62 points a game, gave up 58 in the first half.
Purdue shot 51.4 percent from the field (38 of 74), including 19 of 31 from 3-point range (61.3 percent). The Boilermakers outrebounded the error-prone Stags 42-34. Fairfield was guilty of 22 turnovers, which led to 28 Purdue points.�
The Boilermakers are 4-0 for the ninth time in coach Matt Painter's 13 seasons at his alma mater.
Last year's team - led by current Portland Trail Blazer Caleb Swanigan - began 11-0 and won the Big Ten regular-season championship.
BIG PICTURE:
Fairfield: Guard Tyler Nelson was impressive with 16 points, but he got little help.
Purdue: The Boilermakers made five 3-pointers during the first�3:26�to lead 15-3 to remove any questions about the outcome. Purdue entered averaging 100.7 points a game and did nothing to damage that average.
UP NEXT
Fairfield: Will host Jacksonville on Friday.
Purdue: Will face Tennessee on Wednesday in the Bahamas in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
---
More AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-Top25
