Moore’s 22 points lead No. 4 Purdue to 69-58 win over Wake Forest in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Moore’s 22 lead No. 4 Purdue past Wake Forest

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — E’Twaun Moore scored 22 points to help No. 4 Purdue beat Wake Forest 69-58 on Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

JaJuan Johnson had 21 points and nine rebounds and Robbie Hummel added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Boilermakers (6-0), who are enjoying their highest AP ranking since 1996.

C.J. Harris and Ishmael Smith each scored 14 points and freshman Al-Farouq Aminu added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Wake Forest (4-2).

Purdue forced 25 turnovers and held the Demon Deacons to below 30 percent shooting for most of the second half. The Boilermakers shot 34 percent, but made 24 of 31 free throws and committed just nine turnovers.

Wake Forest, coming off a 78-68 home loss to William and Mary, made 10 of 19 free throws and shot 42 percent overall. The Demon Deacons led 31-29 at halftime but were outscored 40-27 after that.

It was the second consecutive lockdown defensive effort for Purdue. The Boilermakers held Central Michigan to 28 percent shooting in a 64-38 win on Saturday.

Purdue and Wake Forest combined to make just 24 of 66 shots in the first half. Wake Forest led by two points at halftime, and would have led by more if not for 3-of-10 free throw shooting. Neither team led by more than four points in the first 20 minutes. Purdue missed all nine of its 3-pointers in the first half.

Purdue shot poorly again early in the second half, but the Boilermakers were aggressive and forced Wake Forest into foul trouble. Two free throws by freshman Kelsey Barlow gave Purdue a 37-36 lead, then Chris Kramer got a steal and found Hummel streaking to the basket. Hummel made a layup and was fouled, and he converted the three-point play to give the Boilermakers a 40-36 lead.

Purdue capped the 12-0 run with a layup by Moore to take a 42-36 lead. The Boilermakers held the Demon Deacons scoreless for nearly 5 minutes during that stretch.

Purdue missed its first 13 3-point shots, but Moore finally made one to give the Boilermakers a 51-44 lead with 9 minutes left. Johnson followed with a left-handed bank shot to push the lead to nine.

The Boilermakers finally started making shots in the final 10 minutes, allowing them to stretch the lead to as many as 17 points.