Purdue Boilermakers Hold Off N.C. State 66-61

Hammons’ late free throws seal Purdue Boilermakers’ win over N.C. State 66-61.

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – A.J. Hammons knocked down a pair of late free throws Tuesday evening to seal the deal for the Purdue Boilermakers in their 66-61 win over N.C. State in the ACC/B1G Challenge at Mackey Arena.

Hammons, Issac Haas, and Vince Edwards combined to score 44 of Purdue’s 66 points in the victory.

Edwards led the way in the first half for Purdue with 13 points and five rebounds, four of which came on the offensive side. The freshman finished the game with a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds.

"“We have to thank Boiler Nation and the Paint Crew for coming out,” said Edwards. “They really helped us out tremendously. That really amped me up more. I just had it in my mind to attack and go hard. That’s the motto. Just play hard and go hard.”"

A back-and-forth battle between the two teams kept a near-sellout crowd on the edge of their seats throughout the ballgame.

Nine lead changes and eight ties only paints so much of a picture.

Throughout the first half, it seemed like every time the Boilermakers would go on a run, the Wolfpack had some type of answer and never trailed by more than nine the entire game.

Purdue led by two going into the half, 36-34.

P.J. Thompson, one of Purdue’s standout freshmen, knocked down a huge three in transition with just under five minutes to play and gave Purdue a six-point lead that they would not vanquish.

"“These are going to be tests for later down the road in Big Ten play. I felt like we handled adversity well. It’s our first time playing in front of a crowd like this. Boiler Nation and the Paint Crew were great today. They brought us home today and we were able to get the win.”"

Kyle Washington and Trevor Lacey kept the Wolfpack in the game, combining for 32 of their team’s 61 points.

NC State’s head coach Mark Gottfried had nothing but praise for Purdue and the job Matt Painter is doing with this year’s Boilermakers:

"“We’re really disappointed,” said Gottfried. “I thought our guys battled. I also liked how my team competed. I think Matt’s done a great job. They’re a much different and better team this year. They defended us really well. The combination of Hammons and Haas is something a lot of team’s will have to deal with and that’s difficult.”"

Purdue improves to 6-1 on the season and will host North Florida Saturday afternoon at 2PM.

Note: Issac Haas is very worried that he will break the chair set up for the post game press conference. This is the second time he has expressed his concern. I will let everyone know if that time comes. He was also concerned with how the Big 10 was doing the the ACC/B1G Challenge. Don’t worry, Issac. The Big Ten leads the Challenge, 4-2.

Check out some more pictures from tonight’s game, courtesy of Matt Riehle: