After Purdue’s season opening loss to Bucknell, head coach Matt Painter preached that his team needed to be more consistent and play with more maturity.
Two days later, the Boilers, with a revamped starting lineup, showed signs that the message had sunk in, but still have room to grow.
“Coach Painter has been doing this for a long time. He knows what he is doing. Also, with that being said, we did lose our first game and he was trying to wake us up and I think he was trying to prove a point,” said Anthony Johnson.
Purdue topped Hofstra 83-54, Sunday, for its first win of the year.
“You are always, as a coaching trying to - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t - push some buttons and get some guys right,” said Painter. “We have some guys who are developing and getting better, but I do think our effort was better tonight.”
Purdue’s defense and energy were the catalyst in the win. The Boilers forced 17 Hofstra turnovers and won the rebounding battle 55-22, including 20 offensive boards.
“Any time you go from getting out rebounded (against Bucknell) to out rebounding your opponent, it’s definitely a good sign,” said Painter. “Tonight, I thought they were more physical.”
In the first half, the Boilers out hustled, out rebounded, and simply outperformed Hofstra in every facet of the game jumping out to a 25-point lead by halftime.
Hofstra started the second half on a 5-0 run, but then Painter put Jacob Lawson in the game and Purdue responded with a 16-0 run of its own. Lawson finished the day with eight points and three rebounds, all offensive, but his performance can’t be measured simply by the numbers on a stat sheet.
“Jacob Lawson really got us going and gave us energy. That was good to see from him,” said Painter. “He made a difference with his energy, hustle, and offensive rebounding.”
“That’s what coach wanted to see. He just told me to go out there and play my hardest and bring energy,” said Lawson. “That’s what I’m going to keep doing.”
Anthony Johnson continued his solid start to the season with a team-high 14-points and four rebounds. Freshman Ronnie Johnson flirted with a triple double with nine points, seven assists, and six rebounds and Sandi Marcius chipped in 11-points and five rebounds.
“Just being at the right place at the right time and keeping it simple,” said Marcius of why he was successful. “I try to keep doing that and I think it is paying off.”
Junior Terone Johnson was back on the floor after missing the opener with an ankle injury. He scored six points on 1-4 shooting.
The Boilers are going to have to play with the same energy level, and probably more, as they head to New York City.
Purdue is competing in the 2K Sports Classic in the Big Apple benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project. The tournament starts Thursday against Villanova.