BYU falls to Purdue on Hammons’ late jumper
By James Pigott
Nov 26, 2014; Lahaina, Maui, HI, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Tyler Haws (3) drives to the basket against Purdue Boilermakers guard Kendall Stephens (21) during the 2014 EA Sports Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
BYU lost it’s second heartbreaker in overtime in the past three days, falling 87-85 to Purdue after A.J. Hammons made the game winning shot with less than 2 seconds to go. The game was close throughout, and Tyler Haws missed a golden opportunity to win the game in regulation but missed a wide open baseline jump shot. Haws led BYU with 32 points, while Anson Winder added 18 points on 7/9 shooting off the bench. Coming off a career high 10 three pointers and 30 points, Chase Fischer scored just 7 points on 2/11 shooting. Kyle Collinsworth filled the stat sheet despite an off shooting night with 9 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, and 6 steals.
Purdue was led by forward Vincent Edwards with 25 points and 9 rebounds, while Rapheal Davis added 18 points on 10/11 free throw shooting. Seven footers Isaac Haas and A.J. Hammons each scored 12 points in the victory. The Boilermakers showed a certain amount of toughness that comes from playing in the Big Ten conference, and they were able to limit the Cougars’ outside shooting for everyone not named Winder.
Stat of the Day
BYU shot just 7/21 from beyond the arc against a solid defensive team with a lot of long athletic players. This was a far cry from Tuesday’s performance against Chaminade. Chase Fischer accounts for most of BYU’s misses from downtown, so he needs to make sure he is taking good shots. And if his shot is not falling, he needs to defer to BYU’s many other fantastic offensive weapons such as Haws, Winder, and Collinsworth.
Moving Forward
It will not be a happy flight back to Provo for the Cougars. They finished the Maui Invitational without a Division 1 victory and a 1-2 record that easily could have been 3-0. The Cougars are tired after having played three overtime periods in 3 days. BYU is off until Saturday when face Eastern Kentucky at the Marriott Center at 7:00 PM Mountain.