Braden Smith powers No. 8 Purdue past Maryland

Field Level Media|published: Sun 8th December, 14:27 2024

Dec 8, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Selton Miguel (9) shoots the ball over Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) during the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Braden Smith paired 24 points with 10 assists on Sunday to help No. 8 Purdue fend off visiting Maryland 83-78 in Big Ten play in West Lafayette, Ind.

Smith led the Boilermakers with five 3-pointers and made 4 of 5 in the second half to help Purdue (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten) pick up its first conference win after losing 81-70 at Penn State on Thursday.

Trey Kaufman-Renn added 21 points with eight rebounds, Camden Heide netted 15 points and Fletcher Loyer scored 12 to go along with seven rebounds for the Boilermakers.

Derik Queen bundled 26 points and 12 rebounds -- both game-highs -- and Ja'Kobi Gillespie added 18 points for the Terrapins (8-2, 1-1). Maryland had won five straight, including an 83-59 home rout of Ohio State on Wednesday.

Kaufman-Renn and Smith engineered a 10-0 run that put the Boilermakers ahead for good after Maryland took a five-point lead with 8:25 left.

The surge started with Kaufman-Renn, who scored on three straight possessions to swing the hosts ahead 63-62. Smith added a free throw and punctuated the run with a transition triple for a 67-62 lead with 5:21 remaining.

The Terrapins twice got within a possession before Smith buried his fifth three of the game to make it 72-67. Heide drilled a corner trey for an eight-point lead, and Smith followed with a layup to give the Boilermakers their first double-digit advantage of the game with two minutes to go.

Maryland never got closer than four the rest of the way.

Myles Colvin electrified the home crowd with a soaring putback dunk for Purdue's first points, but the Boilermakers trailed 36-31 after a tight first half that featured seven ties and six lead changes.

Gillespie and Rodney Rice led Maryland with 10 points apiece in the first period, while Smith paced Purdue with nine.

Smith jolted Purdue early in the second half, blocking Rice's jumper and hitting a three on the other end to cap a 12-2 run that boosted the Boilermakers ahead 46-42.

Maryland steadied itself behind Queen, who hit his first two 3-pointers of the season on consecutive possessions for a 60-57 lead with 9:06 left. DeShawn Harris-Smith's bucket made it 62-57 before the Terrapins went scoreless over the next four minutes and lost the lead for good.

--Field Level Media

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