The Purdue Boilermakers seemed to be headed for a fifth straight loss as they trailed the UCLA Bruins by one with just under 8:30 left, but they rallied behind a late barrage of 3-pointers to get back in the win column with a 76-66 victory.
Purdue went on a 12-0 run, powered by a trio of 3s from Camden Heide, Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith. Smith also scored seven points over the last 2:54. He hit a pull-up 3 from the top of the key that pushed the Boilermakers lead to 73-60 and felt like a dagger.
Braden Smith drains pull-up 3 pointer, extending Purdue’s lead over UCLA
Braden Smith drained a pull-up 3 pointer to extend the Purdue Boilermakers’ lead over the UCLA Bruins.
ADVERTISEMENT
Purdue was 11-of-21 from deep for the game and 8-of-14 in the second half. Forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who led the Boilermakers with 29 points on 11-of-15 from the field, forced the Bruins to send more attention to him in the paint opening up shots for the guards.
Smith scored 23 points on 6-of-10 from 3-point range, and had eight assists. In the first half, he broke Purdue’s all-time record for assists (now 693) on a dish to Myles Colvin for a pull-up jump shot. He broke Bruce Parkinson’s record of 690, which stood for 48 years.
Braden Smith finds Myles Colvin for the assist, becoming Purdue’s all-time leader in assists
UCLA trailed 29-19 with 5:59 remaining in the first half. The Bruins cut it to 37-35 by halftime and captured the lead early in the second half. Eric Dailey Jr. punctuated their run with a poster dunk over Colvin.
UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. throws down one-handed poster in transition vs. Purdue
Dailey ended with nine points, while forward Tyler Bilodeau led UCLA with 15 points and seven rebounds. The Bruins held a 31-23 rebounding edge.
No. 20 Purdue (20-9 overall, 12-6 Big Ten) and UCLA (20-9, 11-5) went into Friday tied for fourth place and the final double-bye in the Big Ten and, with the win, the Boilermakers earned sole possession of that.
UCLA Bruins vs. No. 20 Purdue Boilermakers Highlights | FOX College Hoops
Check out the greatest moments and plays in this matchup between the UCLA Bruins and the No. 20 Purdue Boilermakers.
Purdue will host Rutgers (14-15, 7-11) on Tuesday at 4 p.m. UCLA plays at Northwestern (15-13, 6-11) on Monday at 6 p.m.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
recommended
Get more from College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Sponsored Content
Bet the World Cup in Wager.dm
