Wisconsin uses record-breaking 18 3-pointers to beat No. 15 Purdue 97-93 in regular-season finale

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — John Blackwell scored 25 points with five 3-pointers, Nick Boyd scored 23 points and Wisconsin set a school record with 18 3-pointers in a 97-93 win over No. 15 Purdue in a road game on Saturday.

The Badgers (22-9, 14-6 Big Ten) have won their third straight and six of their last eight games after shooting 18 of 34 from 3-point range. That tied the second-highest single-game three-point total in school history and set a school record with 12 3-pointers in the first half despite not playing forward Nolan Winter, who injured his left ankle.

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Fletcher Loyer had 23 points and six three-pointers, his 282nd career three-pointer, breaking Carson Edwards’ school record. Brayden Smith had 20 points and nine assists, and Trey Kaufman-Lane had 17 points. Smith, Loyer and Kaufman-Ryan all played their final games at home.

It was the first time in nearly 14,000 days that Purdue eclipsed the 90-point mark in 135 games and lost. The last time this happened was Nov. 24, 1987, against Iowa State.

Purdue got off to a fast start, going on a 13-0 run early on to take a 22-13 lead. But the Boilermakers couldn’t match the Badgers’ 3-point shooting that helped them take the lead and shut down every Purdue possession.

Leading 52-47 at halftime, Purdue took a 62-61 lead in the second half on Smith’s mid-range jumper, and the Badgers immediately responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Aleksas Bieliauskas to make it 69-62 with 14:59 left.

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When the Boilermakers took a 73-72 lead from 3 at 10:04, Wisconsin responded with another 3 – and never trailed the rest of the way.

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Next

Both teams will await Sunday’s Big Ten Tournament pairings to find out who will play in Chicago next week and when.

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