Zach Edey’s 29 points and 16 rebounds powered newly No. 1 Purdue to a 69-61 victory against stubborn Davidson on Saturday night at Indianapolis.
Caleb Furst and Braden Smith also had double-doubles for Purdue (11-0), which was playing for the first time this season with a No. 1 tag.
The Boilermakers never trailed in the second half, but there was rarely a comfortable moment as Davidson kept the pressure on.
Furst finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds and Smith posted 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Sam Mennenga led Davidson (7-4) with 14 points and Foster Loyer had 11 points.
Purdue won despite shooting 3-for-25 on 3-pointers and 32.8 percent overall from the field. But a huge advantage in free throws made a difference as the Boilermakers went 28-for-37 compared to 6-for-11 for Davidson.
Purdue owned a 48-31 advantage in rebounding. That included 17 offensive rebounds.
Edey, a 7-foot-4 center, was 9-for-11 from the field and 11-for-15 on free throws.
Brothers Foster Loyer of Davidson and Fletcher Loyer of Purdue had impacts down the stretch. Fletcher Loyer was 8-for-8 on free throws in the last four minutes.
The Boilermakers had trouble shaking loose from Davidson, which was in its first game since Dec. 7.
Purdue finally went up 58-51 on a pair of Fletcher Loyer free throws with 3:46 to play. But the Wildcats didn’t go away, cutting the cap to 62-57 on Desmond Watson’s 3-pointer with 1:41 left.
Fletcher Loyer made two more foul shots before his brother’s layup for Davidson with just less than a minute to play.
Purdue scored the game’s first nine points, while Davidson needed almost 5 ½ minutes before scoring on. Despite an 11-2 deficit, Davidson recovered to take a 25-24 lead.
The Boilermakers shot 34.4 percent in the first half, though Edey had a first-half double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Purdue is 3-0 all-time against Davidson, with all of those games on neutral courts.
–Field Level Media