Photo credit: Purdue Basketball

As you rested off your turkey, pie and delicious bourbon, our Boilers were back at it again in Melbourne, Florida. The Great Space Ghost (check that) Great Space Coaster (check that) The Space Coast Challenge Championship pitted a rapidly rebuilding Boiler squad versus some grown men from the ACC.

It started ugly as Clemson’s aggressive, extended defense kept Purdue uncomfortable and out of rhythm. At the midway point of the first half, it was a close game before Clemson took control. At the half, Purdue was down by only nine points, thanks to a Thanksgiving Day miracle, really. While Clemson shot the ball poorly, Purdue’s 1-9 3 point shooting was hot garbage.

In the second half, Purdue turned up the defensive intensity, started hitting threes and strung some inside buckets together to tie it up at the 12 minute mark. After that, Clemson’s pressure made it difficult on Purdue’s point guards as Clemson’s Sims dominated.

Purdue’s 21 turnovers compared to Clemson’s 10 were the main story in the 81-70 loss. Purdue guards struggled to throw entry passes to Edey and Thompson struggled at the point.

Play of the game: When I hit the mute button with around 8 minutes left in the first half. This remote play-by-play team struggled worse than our Boilers this evening.

Dude is legit: Edey followed his domination over Liberty’s ‘bigs’ with a 21 minute, 17 point, 8 rebound, 2 block game. That’s a veteran-laden ACC team, over there, young man. Nice work.

Tre can and will get better: Purdue’s pre-season All-con PF/C, Trevion Williams ended the night early by fouling out in the closing minutes. His 10 point, 8 rebound game was good, when he played tough…but much like the first half versus Liberty, he tried to play a finesse game that simply doesn’t work. In the second half, when his jaw was set, he was a different and much more effective player.

Thompson is a shooter: Isaiah Thompson finished with 15 points on 6-10 shooting. He shot the ball well from deep and out-quicked Clemson on a few occasions as well. That said, he struggled bringing the ball up against Clemson’s on-ball defense. Morton seemingly got better and more comfortable handling Clemson’s pressure as the game went on. We saw a glimpse of what he’ll be in a few weeks, earlier tonight.

That New Guy plays like an upper classman: For the second-straight game, Brandon Newman looked like he belongs in the starting lineup. He seems to be under control with the ball in his hands on the wing, shoots the ball well and isn’t afraid to take shots. He finished with 15 points, 5 boards and a pair of steals.

Purdue missed Eric Hunter Jr. yet again. Paint and co hope he’ll be back by the B1G schedule…until then, there’s room for improvement in the backcourt and opportunity for Morton, Thompson and Ivey to log significant minutes. Ivey was out today due to a foot injury, so no matter how you cut it, two of Purdue’s best four ball handlers weren’t able to play. That mattered a lot, and Clemson capitalized on Purdue’s inability to handle the ball and score from the point guard position. It’s gonna get better, and this young Purdue team is gonna be alright. But as they lean on four or five Freshman playing significant minutes, it might be a bit rocky.

Enjoy this season’s process, fellow Boilermaker fans. This is a likable, young squad with immense upside.

Next up, Oakland and Valpo next week at Mackey before coming back to the sunshine state to play Miami in the B1G/ACC Challenge.

Happy Thanksgiving, pals. The fun continues on Saturday as Jeff’s boys welcome Rugggger to God’s Country at 4pm.