No. 21 Purdue Pulls Away from Toledo in Second Half

Sunday, December 29

West Lafayette, Ind.

6:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

6-6,0-0MAC

Purdue

9-4,1-1Big Ten

Toledo

Purdue

Sophomore Sam Lewis recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and career-high 11 rebounds against No. 21 Purdue.

Photo by: Bree Bee

No. 21 Purdue Pulls Away from Toledo in Second Half

12/29/2024 10:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

Sophomore Sam Lewis leads Rockets with 13 points and career-high 11 rebounds

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.- The Toledo men's basketball team pulled within five points early in the second half, but No. 21 Purdue pulled away for an 83-64 victory over the Rockets on Sunday evening before a sold-out crowd of 14,876 fans inside Mackey Arena.

"I was happy with how we competed and shared the ball against a very good team," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "We had too many turnovers with 14. A lot of them were live-ball turnovers that led directly to points."

Sophomores Sam Lewis and Sonny Wilson paced the Rockets offensively with 13 points, with Lewis grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds to record his first career double-double. Junior Seth Hubbard also scored 11 points for Toledo, in addition to grabbing a season-high six boards.

Sophomore Braden Smith topped Purdue (9-4) with a career-high 34 points and 12 assists.

Toledo (6-6) grabbed a season-high 17 offensive rebounds and held a 40-33 advantage on the glass. The Rockets held a 34-28 edge in points in the paint as well as an 18-11 margin in second-chance points.

"I was happy with our rebounding against a good rebounding team," Kowalczyk said. "I think we've learned how to compete better in our last two games by facing two of the hardest-playing teams in the country in Houston and Purdue. Now we just have to get some guys playing better. That's the key for us."

Toledo shot 40.6% from the field but was just 2-of-14 (14.3%) from behind the three-point arc. Purdue posted a 49.2% shooting mark and shot 35.7% (10-of-28) from three-point range.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Sam Lewis' two free throws following the first media timeout gave Toledo a 10-8 lead.
A 9-0 run put the Boilermakers in front, 21-12, with 8:26 left in the half.
Sonny Wilson scored five straight points to bring the Rockets within 31-19 at the 4:16 mark.
Lewis' floater reduced Purdue's margin to 33-26 less than two minutes before halftime.
Toledo trailed 39-28 at intermission after shooting 36.4% in the opening 20 minutes.
Wilson led UT in the first half with seven points, with Grgur Brcic contributing six points.

SECOND HALF

Toledo climbed back into the game quickly with an 8-0 run that closed the gap to 43-38 at the 16:44 mark. Back-to-back dunks from Lewis and Javan Simmons highlighted the burst.
Purdue pushed its lead back to 10 less than two minutes later, but Lewis' triple made the score 50-43 with 14:57 to play.
The Rockets remained within striking distance until a 17-2 spurt put the Boilermakers in control, 72-49, with six minutes remaining.

UP NEXT
Toledo will open Mid-American Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 4 vs. Western Michigan (3-8) before hosting Eastern Michigan (6-5) in its league home opener on Tuesday, Jan. 7.