HONOLULU – Fletcher Loyer scored 27 points, Zach Edey had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds and No. 2 Purdue escaped with a 71-67 win over No. 7 Tennessee in the Maui Invitational semifinals on Tuesday.
The Boilermakers (5-0) separated in the final minutes with a game-closing 10-6 run to deny the Volunteers (4-1).
The teams were whistled for a combined 52 personal fouls and Tennessee coach Rick Barnes drew a technical foul in the first half. Subsequently, there were 78 free throws attempted; Purdue shot 29 of 48 from the line, while Tennessee went 21 of 30.
Loyer shot 7 of 18 from the field and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line. Edey made 7 of 10 field goals, but missed his first six free throws and finished 9 of 17.
The Boilermakers shot 19 of 54 from the field (35.2%), while the Volunteers were 19 of 57 (33.3%).
After he scored 13 points in the first half to help give the Volunteers a 31-30 halftime lead, Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht was held to just three points after the break. Jordan Gainey scored all of his 15 points in the second half.
Purdue held a 44-31 rebounding advantage.
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee, which was picked by SEC media to win the league, was seeking its second premier regular-season tournament title in as many years. It defeated Kansas for the Battle 4 Atlantis championship last season. The Volunteers had won their last five games against AP Top 5 teams over the last two years.
Purdue returns all five starters from a year ago, including Edey, the reigning AP National Player of the Year. The Boilermakers will be playing their third ranked team in as many days in Wednesday’s championship game. They were coming off of a 73-63 win over No. 11 Gonzaga on Monday.
UP NEXT
Tennessee will play either No. 1 Kansas or No. 4 Marquette in the third-place game Wednesday.
Purdue will meet either the Jayhawks or Golden Eagles for the tournament title on Wednesday.
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