Zach Edey's 35 points carry No. 4 Purdue past Alabama

Field Level Media|published: Sat 9th December, 16:26 2023

Dec 9, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) drives to the net against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first half at Coca-Cola Coliseum. credits: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Zach Edey matched his season high of 35 points and also collected seven rebounds in his return home to help No. 4 Purdue post a 92-86 victory over Alabama on Saturday in the Hall of Fame Series in Toronto.

Braden Smith made four 3-pointers while scoring a career-high 27 points to go with eight assists for the Boilermakers (9-1).

Mark Sears established career bests of 35 points and eight 3-pointers for Alabama (6-3).

Edey, a Toronto native, played his first game in his hometown since his sophomore season of high school in 2017-18.

He was 12 of 20 from the field and made all 11 free-throw attempts. Edey also moved into 10th place on Purdue's all-time scoring list with 1,781 points, passing Robbie Hummel (1,772).

Grant Nelson and Mohamed Wague added 11 points for Alabama, which made 45.3 percent of its shots and was 19 of 46 from behind the arc.

Purdue shot 48.4 percent from the field, including 8 of 18 from 3-point range.

Edey scored five points in 47 seconds as the Boilermakers took an 80-76 lead with 3:43 left.

Smith later made a 3-pointer to give Purdue an 87-81 lead with 2:18 to go.

The Crimson Tide moved within 89-86 on Sears' steal and layup with 22.9 seconds left before Purdue closed it out.

Alabama led 60-53 after a basket by Sears with 14:10 remaining in the game before the Boilermakers rattled off 12 straight points. Mason Gillis sank a 3-pointer with 11:24 left in the game to give Purdue its first lead of the game at 62-60. Smith followed with a trey to cap the run.

The Boilermakers later led by nine with just over eight minutes to play before the Crimson Tide ripped off a 12-2 run. Sears made two 3-pointers during the burst and capped the run with one to give Alabama a 76-75 advantage with 4:49 remaining.

Edey scored 18 in the first half but Purdue never led as the Crimson Tide rode 13-of-24 shooting from 3-point range to a 49-47 lead. Sears made four 3-pointers while scoring 15 points and Alabama led by as many as 12.

The Crimson Tide scored the first eight points of the contest and later grew the lead to 30-18 on a 3-pointer by Sears with 9:54 left in the first half.

—Field Level Media