Eastern feasts on IU as Purdue wins 4th straight
WEST LAFAYETTE — Much to the delight of the Purdue fans at Mackey Arena, Nojel Eastern delivered at both ends of the court Saturday.
Eastern had 10 points and 10 rebounds and stopped star freshman guard Romeo Langford, leading the Boilermakers past No. 25 Indiana 70-55.
Carsen Edwards scored 20 points as the Boilermakers (12-6, 5-2 Big Ten) beat their in-state rivals for the fourth straight time.
Eastern posted his first career double-double. He also helped limit Langford to just four points on 2-for-10 shooting as Indiana (12-6, 4-3) lost its fourth straight game.
Langford committed three turnovers and missed all four of his free throws, drawing chants of “overrated” from the home crowd.
“We knew going in that he was a great player,” Purdue c e n t e r Ma t t Haarms said of Langford. “We had a great guy guarding him, the best defensive guard in the Big Ten. ... We just made sure we knew where he was at all times.”
Purdue used a 12-2 spurt at the end of the first half to go up by seven. The Boilermakers then made four of their first six 3-pointers in the second half to build a double-digit lead.
“To start the second half, they got going,” Indiana coach Archie Miller said. “When they make threes, they’re a different team.”
Edwards struggled from the field, making just 6 of 18 shots, but was collapsed the defense and created opportunities for his teammates. He added seven assists and four rebounds.
“When he makes those passes it really puts the other team in a bind,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said of Edwards.
Purdue’s lead ballooned to as many 19 points with nine minutes to go thanks to a boost from the reserves. The Boilermakers held a 17-10 advantage in bench scoring in large part due to Haarms’ secondhalf play.
Purdue freshman Trevion Williams started, but got in early foul trouble, resulting in extended minutes for Haarms.
Haarms finished with 12 points, including eight in the second half. He also had four assists and four rebounds.
For the Hoosiers, Justin Smith scored 15 points and Juwan Morgan had 14. They were the only Indiana players in double figures as the Hoosiers struggled to defend a combination of Purdue centers.