On the strength of a torrid 3-point shooting performance and a critical late run, No. 20 Purdue pulled out of a four-game tailspin with a 76-66 win over UCLA on Friday in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Boilermakers (20-9, 12-6 Big Ten) trailed 56-55 before Trey Kaufman-Renn made a pair of free throws with 7:27 remaining. That began a 12-0 onslaught, turning the prospect of a potential fifth straight loss into a win they desperately needed to maintain their pursuit of one of the top four seeds in the upcoming Big Ten tournament.
Kaufman-Renn, who scored a game-high 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor, followed his go-ahead foul shots with a pair of midrange jumpers. They were the prelude to a deluge from beyond the arc, starting with Camden Heide’s triple on an assist from Fletcher Loyer.
Loyer then hit a corner 3-pointer on an assist from Braden Smith — one of Smith’s eight as he broke the program’s career assist mark. Smith’s historic night also included a career-high-tying six made 3-pointers on 10 attempts.
Smith finished with 23 points and led the Boilermakers on a red-hot 11-of-22 night from beyond the arc. He also contributed to Purdue’s defensive effort with four steals. Kaufman-Renn added three steals and a blocked shot.
Tyler Bilodeau finished with team highs of 15 points and seven rebounds for UCLA. Sebastian Mack came off the bench to score 10 points, and Eric Dailey Jr. finished with nine.
The Bruins (20-9, 11-7) came into the night in a three-way tie with Purdue and Maryland for fourth place in the league. UCLA fell a game behind the Boilermakers and is a half-game behind Maryland, with both Purdue and the Terps now owning the head-to-head wins over the Bruins.
One of Smith’s 3-pointers came after Aday Mara ended UCLA’s scoring drought, pushing the Purdue lead to 12 points with 2:54 remaining.
Smith connected on another 3-pointer from the top of the key less than a minute later, with plenty of time to set up before his swish elicited an eruption from the home fans.
–Field Level Media
