Smith leads balanced attack as No. 1 Purdue defeats stubborn Oakland 87-77

Audio By Carbonatix

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Braden Smith scored 20 points and led six Purdue scorers in doubles figures as the No. 1 Boilermakers topped Oakland 87-77 on Friday night.

Smith, a preseason All-American selection, added nine assists and seven rebounds.

Fletcher Loyer scored 15 points and Oscar Cluff and C.J. Cox added 14 points apiece for Purdue (2-0). Jack Benter and Liam Murphy each scored 11 points for the Boilermakers.

Ziare Wells led the Golden Grizzlies (0-2) with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Nassim Mashhour added 15.

Purdue shook off a slow start and shot 47%, while Oakland shot 44%. The Boilermakers made 13 of 35 shots from 3-point range, while the Golden Grizzlies went 8 for 26 from long distance.

The game was tied at 35-all at halftime before the Boilermakers moved nine points ahead at 53-44 with 15:37 left. But, Purdue couldn’t shake the Golden Grizzlies until late.

Loyer and Cox hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Purdue an 83-69 lead with 2:54 remaining.

The Golden Grizzlies were more competitive than their 121-78 loss to No. 7 Michigan on Monday.

Murphy hit a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left in the opening half to lift Purdue into a tie at the break.

Each team shot 14 for 36 shots in the first half. The Golden Grizzlies had six turnovers in the first half, while Purdue turned the ball over once. Oakland held a 27-17 rebounding edge.

Oakland finished the game with a 39-37 rebounding edge. Cluff led Purdue with nine rebounds. Smith, in his fourth year as Purdue starting point guard, committed three of Purdue’s five turnovers. The Golden Grizzlies committed nine turnovers.

Boilermakers forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who averaged 20.1 points and 6.5 rebounds last season, was sidelined with a hip injury. Kaufman-Renn was injured in Monday’s practice and missed Tuesday’s opening victory over Evansville.

Oakland: At No. 2 Houston on Wednesday.

Purdue: At No. 15 Alabama on Thursday.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball