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Zach Edey’s 31 points, 22 boards lead No. 5 Purdue over Minnesota

Dec 4, 2022; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) rebounds the ball while Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Jamison Battle (10) and  guard Jackson Purcell (11) defend in the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Zach Edey piled up career highs of 31 points and 22 rebounds to guide No. 5 Purdue to an 89-70 victory over Minnesota during a Big Ten opener Sunday night in West Lafayette, Ind.

The 7-foot-4 junior recorded a double-double in each half for the Boilermakers (8-0, 1-0), who used a 15-0 run late in the first half to assert their dominance. Fletcher Loyer added 20 points and eight assists and Brandon Newman posted 13 points off the bench.

Jamison Battle drilled 5 of 10 3-point attempts to finish with 21 points for Minnesota (4-4, 0-1). Ta’Lon Cooper notched 15 points and eight assists, but the Gophers were outrebounded 41-21 overall — and 22-21 by Edey alone.

The Gophers held two brief leads early thanks to baskets by freshman Joshua Ola-Joseph (10 points), who made his first start with usual starter Treyton Thompson unable to make the trip.

Purdue missed 10 of its first 12 shots — Edey erring on six of his first seven attempts — but gradually took control as Trey Kaufman-Renn (10 points) came off the bench to deliver a putback and a dunk. Then Caleb Furst (10 points), starting for the injured Mason Gillis (back), drilled a 3-pointer and a turnaround jumper to push Purdue’s lead to 17-9.

Minnesota was clinging within 27-20 until Purdue reeled off 15 straight points over a span of 3:48. Edey opened the spree with an alley-oop dunk from Loyer, then added three free throws before Newman cashed a jumper and a 3-pointer and Loyer added a trey. Edey’s putback made it 42-20 with 1:34 left in the half.

Purdue owned a 42-27 lead at the break as Edey grabbed more rebounds (12) than the foul-prone Gophers (10).

The Boilers maintained their double-digit lead throughout the second half, but head coach Matt Painter felt compelled to bring Edey back into the game when Braeden Carrington drove for a transition layup to cut the margin to 72-59 with 5:39 to go. Purdue scored the next seven points to clinch the game.

–Field Level Media

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