INDIANAPOLIS - Purdue lost Saturday to Notre Dame, but it may have discovered a low-post presence in freshman big man Trevion Williams.
The 6-foot-9, 280-pound Chicago native tallied a career-high 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting with four rebounds, two steals and a block. This, after notching a rebound and foul in just three minutes in the first half.
But, it wasn't enough to get Purdue over the hump in a 88-80 loss to Notre Dame in the eighth-annual Crossroads Classic. Junior Carsen Edwards also tried his best on this day, scoring a game-high 27 points but hitting only 8-of-22 shots. And senior Ryan Cline chipped in 15 points on a day he rediscovered his shooting touch - a little bit - on 5-of-13 shooting. Still, the Boilermakers couldn't get over the hump at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Purdue has been searching for a win over a marquee non-league foe after losing to Virginia Tech, Florida State and Texas in excruciating fashion, falling by an average of 3.7 points in those games.
Saturday, the outcome wasn't as close - or excruciating - as the Fighting Irish (7-3) outscored the Boilermakers 26-8 after Purdue took an early 10-4 lead. Notre Dame, which led 36-29 at halftime, never looked back or relinquished control.
The Irish shot lights out, hitting 52 percent from the field and 52.4 percent from 3-point land. And for good measure, Notre Dame hit 25-of-29 free throws (86.2 percent). Conversely, Purdue connected on just 42.9 percent of its shots and 31.0 percent from 3-point range, also hitting only 11-of-18 free throws (61 percent). John Mooney, a 6-9 junior forward, did most of the damage for Notre Dame with 21 points, hitting 6-of-8 shots to go along with a game-high six boards.
The loss ends Purdue's two-game win streak in the Crossroads Classic and drops the Boilermakers to 2-6 all-time in the event. The defeat also means the Boilermakers (6-5) have exhausted their last chance to score an impressive non-conference win before Big Ten play begins Jan. 3 against Iowa.
Up next for the Boilermakers - who have lost four of five - is a visit from Ohio of the Mid-American Conference on Thursday, as Purdue looks to build some mojo as it closes out the non-league portion of its schedule with a visit from Belmont on Dec. 29.