Miami Falls In Big 10/ACC Challenge Contest at Purdue

Box Score | Season Stats

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) –Miami went to a small lineup, and Purdue made the Hurricanes pay.

The Boilermakers shot 55 percent to defeat Miami 76-65 on Tuesday night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Miami didn’t have a starter taller than 6-foot-6. That prompted Purdue, which normally takes more than 40 percent of its shots from beyond the 3-point line, to focus on shooting from close range. The Boilermakers still took 16 3-pointers, but they made 22 of 31 shots inside the 3-point line.

Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga knew he was taking a risk.

“Quite frankly, we’re going through a little bit of a transition of learning what we’re capable of doing,” he said. “We changed our starting lineup, and we were very, very small. They immediately went inside against us and got us into some foul trouble.”

Robbie Hummel had 17 points and five rebounds, Lewis Jackson scored 15 points and Terone Johnson added 13 for the Boilermakers, who won their Challenge matchup for the third straight year and claimed their 22nd straight home victory.

Jackson is only 5-foot-9, but he was one of the main beneficiaries of Purdue’s aggressive approach. The point guard constantly weaved his way through Miami’s defense.

“Coach (Matt) Painter always tells me to attack,” Jackson said. “Sometimes I think I get too passive and guys get on me, but I saw the way they were playing. They were hugged up so much on these guys. That created more lanes, so I had even more opportunities to get to the rim.”

Purdue reserves Terone Johnson and Anthony Johnson combined to score 15 points in the second half.

“I told our team before the game, one of the strong qualities about Purdue is that they have a very good starting unit but also an excellent bench, and that Johnson and Johnson are very capable of coming in and hurting us,” Larranaga said.

Malcolm Grant and Shane Larkin each scored 16 points for Miami (4-2). Larkin had averaged just 5.3 points this season before the outburst.

But the Boilermakers held Miami to 39 percent shooting, in part because they stopped Miami’s penetration.

“In practice, you get tired of hearing about it,” Hummel said. “That’s where it all starts. We have to help our bigs stay out of foul trouble. We have to help this team be better on defense. “

Painter said his team passed a tough test.

“I think it was difficult to guard Miami, just because so they have so many athletes and so much quickness, and they spread you out,” he said.

The Hurricanes have dropped their first two road games. They lost 64-61 at Mississippi on Friday night.

Purdue led 37-25 lead at halftime. Hummel had nine points and Jackson eight at the break.

Jackson opened the second-half scoring with an acrobatic layup. He was fouled on the shot and converted the three-point play.

Purdue increased its lead to 49-36 before Larkin hit two 3-pointers during an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 49-44.

Purdue regained control with a layup by Anthony Johnson and a basket by Terone Johnson after a steal by Jacob Lawson. Kelsey Barlow then stole Miami’s inbounds pass and found Anthony Johnson for a layup to push Purdue’s lead back up to 61-50 with 8:40 to play.

The Boilermakers remained in control from there. Hummel made 4 of 4 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

Now the Boilermakers will play at No. 11 Xavier on Saturday.

“We had 30 minutes in the locker room to celebrate the win tonight, and now we have to move on to the next game,” Terone Johnson said. “We just played the best guards we’ve played yet, and now we have to go out and attack the guards we play next because they’re going to be the best guards we play again.”

Game Notes
– Coach Jim Larranaga started a small lineup against Purdue, with Malcolm Grant, Durand Scott, Garrius Adams, Trey McKinney Jones and Erik Swoope. The start was McKinney Jones’ first of his Miami career. Larranaga had started Kenny Kadji the previous five games.
– Malcolm Grant has made a three-pointer in 29-straight games dating back to the Dec. 30, 2009 outing against Pepperdine.
– Shane Larkin’s four three-pointers tonight marked the most in a game during his young career. His second shot from long range brought the Hurricanes within five (49-44) with 12 minutes left in the second half. He scored 16 points from 14:27 in the second half, including his four threes.
– Raphael Akpejiori grabbed a game-high tying seven rebounds in just 14 minutes of play.
– Trey McKinney Jones finished in double figures with 10 points on the night, the third time this season he’s reached double figures scoring.
– The Hurricanes have made a three-point basket in 317-straight games and have made at least one trey in 774 of 777 games since the NCAA adopted the three-point shot in 1986. The only three times Miami failed to hit a three-pointer was against Indiana on Dec. 15, 2001 (0-13), versus St. John’s on Mar. 5, 2000 (0-13) and against Howard on Dec. 6, 1991 (0-15). The Hurricanes are 2-1 all-time when failing to hit a trey.
– UMiami handed out 12 assists as a team, including a season-high four from Trey McKinney Jones.
– Despite the small lineup, Miami out-rebounded Purdue, 29-28, leading to a 10-4 advantage in second chance points.
– Malcolm Grant’s team-high tying 16 points allowed him to reach double figures scoring in all six games this year, the only Cane player to do so this season.
– Miami trails the all-time series with Purdue 0-3, with the previous two games being played at neutral sites. On March 14, 1999, Miami lost 73-63 to Purdue in the NCAA Tournament in Boston. In their first meeting, the Boilermakers won 110-82 at the Eastern Airlines Palm Beach Classic on Dec. 30, 1987.
– Miami in the Big 10/ACC Challenge(1-4)
    11/29/05 at Michigan – L, 53-74
    11/28/06 at Northwestern – L, 59-61
    12/02/08 Ohio State – L, 68-73
    12/02/09 Minnesota – W, 63-58
    11/29/11 at Purdue – L, 65-76