Hammons Lifts Purdue Past Nebraska

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#BoilerNotes
- Purdue's 7-3 conference record is the fourth time under coach Painter that the Boilermakers have started at least 7-3, the last time coming back in the 2010-11 season.
- The Boilermakers are now 12-4 against Nebraska all-time following the 89-74 victory tonight.
- Purdue's 58.9 field goal percentage was its highest against a Big Ten opponent since shooting 59.5 percent at Wisconsin on Jan. 27, 2009.
- Purdue continued their streak of outrebounding their opponent for the 23rd time this season, winning the rebound margin 38-22. This was the 11th time this season the Boilermakers have outrebounded opponents by 10 or more. Purdue won the battle of the glass by a 20-8 margin in the second half.
- Purdue's bench outscored Nebraska's 23-22, making it 22-of-23 games this season that Purdue has done so (Ohio State).
- The Boilermakers have scored 70 or more points in seven of their last 8 games, and in 17-of-23 games this season after scoring 89 points today.
- 17 of Purdue's 19 wins have been decided by at least 11 points after its 15-point win today.
- Purdue is now 9-0 when shooting over 48.0 percent from the field, shooting 58.9 percent against Nebraska.
- The Boilermakers improved to 11-0 in games where Rapheal Davis scores 10 or more points, with Davis notching 17 points today.
- Purdue also improved to 9-0 when AJ. Hammons leads the team in points.
- Purdue is now 15-2 when leading at the half this season.
- The Boilermakers improved to 14-0 on the season when the senior class scores over 21 points (had 51 points tonight).
- Purdue is also 12-0 this season when Isaac Haas scores in double digits; Haas had 13 points.
- Purdue set a season high in 3-point percentage at 58.3 percent (7-of-12).
- Purdue shot 88.9 percent (16-of-18) from the free throw line, the eighth time this year the team has shot over 80.0 percent from the free throw line.
- A.J. Hammons set a career high in points with 32, surpassing the 30 he scored against Indiana three years ago to the day. Hammons became the first Purdue player with a 30-10 game since Robbie Hummel had 35 points and 10 rebounds against Ohio State on Jan. 12, 2010.
- Hammons became the first player nationally since Georgetown's Michael Sweetney against Notre Dame on Feb. 9, 2002, to score at least 32 points with 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in a game. Sweetney needed 49 minutes to reach those marks. Hammons needed 29.
- Hammons has now moved to 22nd on Purdue's all-time scoring list, reaching 1,400 points during the game.
- With 32 points and 11 rebounds, Hammons collected his 20th career double-double.
- P.J. Thompson dished out seven assists against zero turnovers, and now has a 66:11 (6.00) assist-to-turnover ratio. Over the last seven games, Thompson has 22 assists against one turnover in 187 minutes of action.
- Purdue recorded 27 assists on 33 made field goals, the fourth time this year that Purdue has had at least 25 assists in a game.
- Purdue held Nebraska to seven offensive rebounds, the seventh time in the last eight games that opponents have had single-digit offensive rebounds.
- Caleb Swanigan grabbed 12 rebounds, now giving him 199 for the season. He needs just seven more rebounds to set the Purdue freshman single-season record.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) A.J. Hammons scored a career-best 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading No. 21 Purdue to an 89-74 victory over Nebraska on Saturday.

"I just had a lot of energy at the beginning," said Hammons, who made 14 of 17 field goal attempts and 4 of 4 free throws. ''Coach said to just make sure you're locked in, so I have been trying to get locked in all day. I made sure I kept attacking the rim, and they got early fouls, so I tried to keep going.''

Rapheal Davis had 17 points and six rebounds, and Isaac Haas scored 13 points for Purdue (19-4, 7-3 Big Ten). Caleb Swanigan contributed six points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Boilermakers, who improved to 5-0 against Nebraska (12-10, 4-5) in Mackey Arena.

Shavon Shields and Andrew White III each scored 16 to lead Nebraska, which had no answer for 7-footers Hammons and Haas.

''They got 45 points from their two bigs and 21 on 3-pointers,'' Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. ''I thought Rapheal Davis' four 3-pointers were more of a dagger than A.J.'s dunks. We knew he would get some of those. He is a physical presence, and we don't have that right now.''

Hammons, who had 16 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's win at Minnesota, broke his previous best of 30, notched in a loss to Indiana on Jan. 30, 2013.

''For A.J., it's all about posting up strong and making good decisions,'' Purdue coach Matt Painter said. ''He posted hard all day, and you can do that when you have that kind of talent. Another key was that Rapheal got into a rhythm and knocked down those four 3s.''

Purdue got a 3-pointer from Davis and a baseline jumper from Swanigan to increase its lead to 76-65 with 6:16 to play. Hammons broke his career high with a dunk with 4:28 remaining.

Davis' 3-pointer gave Purdue a 61-51 lead with 12:34 remaining, but back-to-back baskets from Shields and Glynn Watson Jr. trimmed Nebraska's deficit to 61-55 with 11:49 to play.

A 3-pointer by Watson with 12:52 to go capped an 8-0 Nebraska run and sliced Purdue's lead to 58-51, prompting a Boilermaker timeout.

While Nebraska enjoyed a 22-11 advantage in points as the result of turnovers, Purdue outrebounded the Cornhuskers, 38-22. The Boilermakers have outrebounded each of their first 23 opponents.

Purdue scored the final five points in the first half - a Ryan Cline 3-pointer and a dunk at the buzzer by Hammons following an offensive rebound - for a 44-35 lead.

The Boilermakers shot 51.7 percent (15 of 29) during the first half. Nebraska shot 43.3 percent (13 of 30).