INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Trey Kaufman-Laine had 18 points and six rebounds and Brayden Smith added 11 points and a season-high 14 assists to help No. 6 Purdue beat No. 21 Auburn 88-60 on Saturday.
C.J. Cox scored 14 points and hit four 3-pointers, and the Boilermakers (11-1) won their third straight game after being upset at home by then-No. 10 Iowa State two weeks ago. Purdue improved to 3-1 on 55.9 percent shooting in the annual Indy Classic.
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Kevin Overton scored 22 points and Keyshawn Hall added 14 points to lead Auburn (3 of 4) at 8-4. The Tigers and Oakland are the only Division I teams to play four top-10 opponents this season, but Auburn is 0-4 in those games, losing each of its final three games by at least 28 points.
The Tigers also have several injury concerns. With 11:10 left in the game, Tahaad Pettiford limped off the court with what appeared to be a sprained right ankle. KeShawn Murphy injured his right ankle and left the game with 5:23 left. None came back.
But the game was over long before that, as Auburn shot just 36.2 percent from the field and posted its lowest scoring total of the season.
Purdue used a 9-2 spurt at the end of the first half to open up the score and extend the lead to 37-24 by 6 points. The Boilermakers led 46-32 at halftime and started the second half with a 9-3 run to push the score to 55-35.
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Auburn cut the deficit to 64-48 with 10:33 left in the game, but could not get closer the rest of the game.
Next
Auburn will host Queen’s University on December 29th.
Purdue will host Kent State on Dec. 29 at Mackey Arena.
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