Boilermakers use balanced attack to top Notre Dame 88-78
INDIANAPOLIS — Sasha Stefanovic and Eric Hunter Jr. each scored 18 points, and Purdue beat Notre Dame 88-78 on Saturday in a Crossroads Classic Challenge game.
Stefanovic started the game with a 3-pointer, and with 7:12 left to play, buried a 3 for a 72-61 lead and Purdue (6-2) led by double figures the rest of the way. Stefanovic was 6-for-8 shooting including 5 for 7 from 3-point range.
Hunter finished 4 for 7 from 3-point range and distributed eight assists. Trevion Williams scored 14 points, and Mason Gillis scored 12 for the Boilermakers. Purdue made half of their 28 3-point attempts.
Trey Wertz led the Irish (2-4) with 27 points and made half of his 10 3-point attempts. Cormac Ryan scored 14 points, Nate Laszewski 13 and Nikola Djogo 11.
Purdue led 47-42 at halftime, and a 6-2 spurt to start the second half extended its lead to nine. Notre Dame countered with a 3 from Dane Goodwin and two more from Djogo to tie 53-53, but the Irish wouldn’t gain the lead.
With the win, the Boilermakers moved their record to 33-7 in the month of December since the 2015-16 season.
