WEST LAFAYETTE − There was no longer a conference title to fight for, but Purdue basketball had pride on the line.
With an inspired performance from senior trio Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer, the seventh-ranked Boilermakers avenged a Jan. 27 loss at rival Indiana with a 93-64 pummeling Friday night at Mackey Arena.
Freshman Omer Mayer joined the three seniors in double figure scoring after catching fire in the second half.
The freshman point guard scored a career-high 18 points, helping the Boilermakers deliver the knockout punch in a game Purdue never trailed.
Purdue basketball turning point vs. Indiana
It didn’t take much. Braden Smith made a 3-pointer from the right wing and Fletcher Loyer followed suit with another from the top of the key. Purdue led 6-0 and Mackey Arena did the rest.
The Boilermakers never had a first half run longer than six straight points, but they slowly but surely continued to expand the lead. By halftime, the senior trio of Smith, Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn combined for 37 points while Purdue’s defense gave Indiana only a few easy looks from the perimeter.
The Boilers were up by 17 at the half and never looked back.
How many assists did Braden Smith have vs. Indiana
Braden Smith had 8 assists against Indiana on Friday. Smith has 994 career assists. He needs 82 to tie former Duke guard Bobby Hurley’s NCAA record of 1,076 career assists.
3 Purdue basketball stars vs. Indiana
Trey Kaufman-Renn: The fifth-year senior posted back-to-back big games in the scoring column. After a 27-point performance vs. Michigan on Tuesday, Kaufman-Renn missed his first two shots on Friday, but put back his own miss on the second. Kaufman-Renn made his final eight field goals and finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Braden Smith: The senior point guard had two early steals, setting the tone for another solid stat line across the board. Smith finished with 3 steals to go with his 8 assists and 15 points.
Fletcher Loyer: It was a perfect night for the senior guard. Loyer went 5-for-5 from the field, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range and made all four free throw attempts to finish with 18 points.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue basketball leads Indiana from start to finish in blowout win