Zach Edey had 28 points and 15 rebounds as No. 2 Purdue defeated No. 4 Marquette 78-75 on Wednesday in the championship game of the Maui Invitational in Honolulu.
It was Purdue’s first crown in the 40-year history of the event.
Purdue likely will be the new No. 1 team in the nation after current No. 1 Kansas lost to Marquette in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational.
Purdue (6-0) defeated No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 7 Tennessee and the Golden Eagles to claim the tournament title. Braden Smith supplied 18 points, Lance Jones had 11 and Fletcher Loyer had 10 for Purdue on Wednesday.
Marquette (5-1) was led by Tyler Kolek, who poured in 22 points. Kam Jones added 17 and Oso Ighodaro had 16.
Purdue led by 12 at halftime and quickly extended the lead to 15. But Marquette kept chipping away. The Golden Eagles used an 8-0 run midway through the second half to cut Purdue’s lead down to 61-58. Each time the Golden Eagles got it close, Purdue responded.
Ighodaro’s dunk with 2:54 left once again drew Marquette within three points at 74-71. Edey hit a pair of free throws and Ighodaro hit a short baseline jumper. Marquette grabbed a rebound with 1:02 left and Ighodaro gave his team a 76-75 edge with another jumper. Edey then tipped in a layup with 16 seconds left.
Jones’ 3-point attempt in the final seconds from near half-court missed everything.
Marquette’s strategy changed with 14:37 left in the first half when Ighodaro went to the bench with his second foul. Marquette led 12-9 at that point, and Ighodaro had four points. When he returned with 4:30 left in the half, the Golden Eagles trailed 31-23.
With Ighodaro out, Marquette had problems guarding Edey. Marquette had twice as many first-half fouls, and Purdue controlled the glass, outrebounding the Golden Eagles 17-11. The Boilermakers took a 45-33 lead into halftime after Lance Jones hit a three-quarter-court shot at the buzzer.
Edey had scored the previous 11 points for Purdue, giving him 13 in the half. He also led Purdue with six rebounds. Kolek led all scorers with 15 points.
Purdue had hit a total of eight 3-pointers in the first two games of the Maui Invitational, but the Boilermakers were 10-for-21 from beyond the arc on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media