Purdue coach Matt Painter thinks incoming freshman Rapheal Davis falls into Chris Kramer’s category.WEST LAFAYETTE – Ryne Smith turned to his teammates near the Purdue bench and screamed in excitement after making a three-pointer.
The senior guard returned to the starting lineup and helped the Boilermakers finish off Northwestern 87-77 Sunday.
Smith was one of five Purdue players to reach double figures in front of 14,155 fans at Mackey Arena.
Smith had 14 points and seven rebounds in 39 minutes.
“He obviously stepped up and made a couple, but the seven defensive rebounds really helped us,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “He gave a good effort on the glass.”
Smith’s three-pointer with 5:53 remaining gave Purdue a 63-57 lead. The Boilermakers maintained control the rest of the way to get a much-needed win. Purdue (16-9, 6-6 Big Ten) entered Sunday having lost four of its previous five.
“It’s definitely good to get a win back home again,” said senior forward Robbie Hummel, who had a team-high 27 points. “It’s important for us to set a tone for the rest of the year that it’s going to be hard to come into Mackey Arena and win.”
D.J. Byrd scored 20 points. Terone Johnson scored 11, and Kelsey Barlow scored 10.
Byrd and Hummel had three three-pointers. Smith had four. Purdue made 7 of 11 three-pointers in the second half.
“Hummel got some, of course, but I thought Smith and Byrd banged them and seemed to break it open,” Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said.
John Shurna led Northwestern with 30 points. Drew Crawford had 14 points but was ejected after receiving his second technical with 1:25 remaining.
Reggie Hearn, a former standout at Snider, had 16 points and eight rebounds.
“He’s been consistently good all year,” Carmody said of Hearn.
The Wildcats (15-9, 5-7) saw their three-game winning steak come to an end. Purdue snapped a two-game losing streak.
The Boilermakers slightly shuffled the lineup. Seniors Lewis Jackson and Smith did not start Tuesday against Ohio State. Jackson once again wasn’t in the starting lineup Sunday but finished with eight assists and no turnovers.
“I was trying to get those guys to understand, especially our two seniors in Smith and Jackson, that they have to play better for us,” Painter said. “I thought (Jackson) responded and I thought Ryne responded (against Ohio State).
“We mixed some things up a little different again and didn’t start (Jackson) tonight, I thought he did a good job.”
Purdue also did a good job on the boards. The Boilermakers had 40 rebounds to Northwestern’s 28.
“Just the difference in our effort,” Painter said. “I just thought our effort was better. I liked our effort. We’ve got to keep working in that direction.”
