Redshirt freshman Amar’e Marshall scored a season-best and game-high 24 points to lead three Hofstra players in double-figures in a 85-66 loss at No. 4 Purdue Wednesday night at Mackey Arena.
Hofstra fell to 6-4 on the season with the loss while the Boilermakers improved to 9-0 on the season.
Joining Marshall in double-figures for the Pride were Darlinstone Dubar and Tyler Thomas, who had 14 and 10 points, respectively. Thomas also added a season-high five rebounds, while Jaquan Carlos led the Pride with six assists.
The Boilermakers raced out to a 13-2 lead in the first 4:15. Purdue scored the first nine points behind five points from Braden Smith and four from Zach Edey. Dubar put Hofstra on the board with a layup with 16:55 on the clock before the home team scored the next four points before the first media timeout. Following the time out, Purdue scored seven unanswered points to open a 20-2 lead with 14:18 to play. German Plotnikov stopped the run with a three-pointer that made it 20-5. The Purdue lead grew to as many as 21, 29-8, with 10:31 to go. Hofstra used a 23-14 run over the next nearly eight minutes to get within 12, 43-31, with 2:52 remaining on Thomas’ three-pointer. The Boilermakers closed the half on an 11-3 run to take a 54-34 lead into halftime.
The second half saw Hofstra outscore Purdue, 32-31. The Pride got as close as 15 points, 57-42, 1:28 into the stanza on another three-pointer from Thomas. But Purdue would go up by as many as 24, 72-48, with 13:06 remaining on an Edey hook shot and pick up the 19-point victory.
Edey led five Purdue players in double-figures with 23 points and added a game-high 18 rebounds. Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn each had 13 points, while Caleb Furst chipped in with 12 points and Fletcher Loyer added 10.
Hofstra returns to action Sunday when it takes on Massachusetts at the Barclays Center. Tip-off in Brooklyn is set for 7 p.m.
Notes:
-Hofstra is 0-2 all-time versus Purdue
-The Boilermakers are the highest-ranked opponent Hofstra has played since taking on No. 1 Villanova on December 22, 2017.
-Hofstra played without leading scorer Aaron Estrada, who sat out due to injury.
-Marshall, who was making his first career start, surpassed his previous high of 16 points set against Middle Tennessee on November 25.
For more information on the Hofstra University Athletics Department fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
Hofstra University Athletics – Official Athletics Website (gohofstra.com)