E’Twaun Moore finished with 22 points, as sixth-ranked Purdue held on for a 73-72 win over No. 9 Tennessee in the title game of the Paradise Jam.
No. 6 Purdue Edges No. 9 Tennessee For Paradise Jam Title
Robbie Hummel added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Boilermakers (4-0), who defeated South Dakota State and Saint Joseph’s before facing Tennessee. JaJuan Johnson totaled 11 points before fouling out.
Purdue freshman Kelsey Barlow missed two free throws with 16.9 seconds left but grabbed the rebound off a missed potential go-ahead three by Wayne Chism to help secure the victory.
Chism finished with a game-high 24 points, while Bobby Maze ended with 13 points for the Volunteers (4-1), who had beaten East Carolina and DePaul. Tyler Smith added 10 points in the loss.
In a tight-game throughout, Purdue went up 72-66 after Keaton Grant made two free throws with 2:13 to go.
But Smith sank two free throws moments later for the Vols, and Chism grabbed the rebound off a missed jumper by Hummel. Chism then made a left-handed layup with 1:15 to play to get Tennessee to within 72-70.
At the other end, Chism raced from behind to block a Chris Kramer layup, but with a chance to put the Vols ahead, Cameron Tatum missed a spot-up three from the right side.
After Hummel made 1-of-2 foul shots, Maze raced for a layup to get the Vols to within a point, and a foul put Barlow at the line with 16.9 seconds remaining. Barlow missed both, but Chism’s try from the top of the arc hit off the square and bounced to the right side of the court. Barlow was there to grab the ball and held on until time ran out.
Neither team led by more than six in the first half, and that advantage came after a Smith dunk made it a 7-1 Vols lead just under three minutes into the game. But six straight Purdue points evened the contest, and the teams continued to stay within a possession or two.
A Moore layup in the final seconds gave the Boilermakers a 42-41 edge at the break.
Neither team led by more than three in the second half until Moore sank a pull-up jumper by the foul line to give Purdue a 64-59 advantage with just over six minutes to play.
Tennessee shot 44.2 percent (23-of-52), while Purdue made 44.6 percent (25- of-56) of its shots…Purdue sank 19-of-26 foul shots, while UT made 23- of-28…Chism pulled down six rebounds.
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