Zach Edey powers No. 2 Purdue past No. 4 Marquette in Maui Invitational title game
Zach Edey had 28 points and 15 rebounds and carried No. 2 Purdue to a 78-75 win over No. 4 Marquette in the championship game of the Maui Invitational on Wednesday.
The early season matchup of undefeated teams in a tournament stacked with five teams ranked among the top 11 nationally did not disappoint.
Edey, the reigning national Player of the Year, shot 11 of 19 from the field and led the Boilermakers (6-0) to their first Maui Invitational title.
Purdue led by as many as 15 points early in the second half. Marquette chipped away and pulled within 76-75 on a basket by Oso Ighodaro with less than a minute to play. But, Edey gave his team some breathing room with a right-handed putback of Braden Smith's missed layup for a 78-75 lead with 18 seconds remaining.
Marquette had two chances to tie it, but 3-point attempts by Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones in the closing seconds failed to drop.
Marquette was attempting to become the first team to record wins over the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams in the country in back-to-back games since Loyola Chicago defeated No. 2 Duke, followed by a victory over No. 1 Cincinnati in the 1963 Final Four. The Golden Eagles' win over No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday was their third over a top-ranked team in program history.
Smith scored 18 points and Fletcher Loyer added 10 for Purdue.
Kolek had 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Kam Jones added 17 points and five assists for the Golden Eagles (5-1).
Lance Jones hit a desperation heave from three-quarters the length of the court at the first-half buzzer to give Purdue a 45-33 lead at the break.
It was the second straight year that the teams faced off. Purdue posted a 75-70 win over Marquette last season.
Purdue is all but certain to move to No. 1 by virtue of its three wins over three teams ranked in the top 11, including No. 7 Tennessee on Tuesday. It would be the Boilermakers' first time atop the AP poll since Feb. 20, 1978.
Purdue hosts Texas Southern on Tuesday in the second meeting between the schools.
Marquette will face Southern at home on Tuesday before playing at in-state rival Wisconsin on Dec. 2.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
