WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The NAIA 12th-ranked Carroll College men's basketball team performed admirably, but a second-half surge by NCAA DI No. 20 Purdue ended any chances of a comeback for the Saints as the Boilermakers rolled to a 98-71 win over Carroll in exhibition action Wednesday.
The two teams battled early. Carroll led 3-2 on a three-pointer from
Ife Kalejaiye, before trading baskets and leads. A pair of free throws from
Match Burnham with 15:41 left in the first half put Carroll up 9-8.
The Carroll defense was stiff in the first half, forcing Purdue into 12 turnovers which kept the Saints in the game. Carroll trailed 30-24 with 6:21 left in the half before the Boilermakers went on a 9-0 run to build a 39-25 lead with 3:51 left in the frame.
The Saints responded with a 7-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 39-32 with a minute left. Purdue's Ryan Cline nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to extend the lead back to 44-34 at the half.
After the break, it was all Boilermakers. Purdue opened with a 20-9 run over the first six minutes to take complete control of the game. The Saints battled to keep the lead at 21 until just under the seven-minute mark when an 8-0 Purdue run slammed the door on any thoughts of a comeback.
Both teams emptied their bench down the stretch, and the Boilermakers coasted to the 27-point win.
"It was a great opportunity for our squad to play in such an awesome environment against a fantastic squad," head coach Carson Cunningham said. "I'm grateful to Coach (Matt) Painter and Purdue for hosting us."
Despite, the margin of victory, the Saints showed some promising signs.
Ryan Imhoff scored a game-high 21 points, including 15 in the first half.
Match Burnham and
Matt Wyman tallied 11 each, and
Ife Kalejaiye added 10 points to round out the Saints in double figures.
The Saints were 21-49 (42.9 percent) from the field against the sizable Boilermakers. Carroll also tallied 15 assists on the 21 made field goals, led by five each from
Lorel Johnson and Imhoff. Carroll was 23-27 (85.2 percent) from the line.
"Several guys had nice stretches," Cunningham said. "It was impressive to see Imhoff assert himself, and watch Lorel and Ife handle the ball pressure so well."
Matt Wyman had a game-high five rebounds, but Purdue outrebounded the Saints 40-21. The Carroll forced the Boilermakers into 20 turnovers but tallied 23. Burnham, Imhoff and Kalejaiye had three steals each.
"We did some nifty things, created some sweet action, and we played really hard. Purdue did too," Cunningham said. "Alas, they wore us down a bit in the second half. I hope we helped them out. I know this is a huge help to us as we continue the process of becoming the best team we can be."
Cunningham and the Saints are taking advantage of the trip to the Midwest. The Saints play St. Francis of the Chicagoland Conference, Saturday in a true road game in Joliet, Illinois. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 6 p.m. MDT.
