Edwards helps No. 24 Purdue hold off Ball State
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) Carsen Edwards scored 23 points on 8-for-22 shooting, and No. 24 Purdue pulled away from Ball State for an 84-75 victory on Saturday night.
Edwards struggled with his shooting stroke at times, but managed to contribute in a variety of ways. The junior guard also had five rebounds, five assists and blocked a shot.
Matt Haarms had 16 points for Purdue (2-0) despite batting foul trouble. Evan Boudreaux added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Nojel Eastern finished with 12 points and nine boards.
Tayler Persons led Ball State with 19 points and eight rebounds. But he was shut down after Purdue coach Matt Painter put Eastern on him in the second half.
The Cardinals (1-1) also got 13 points from K.J. Walton.
Eastern had six offensive rebounds, helping Purdue to a 40-29 edge on the boards.
BIG PICTURE
Purdue showed its ability to weather a poor shooting half, including by its best scorer in Edwards, but it likely will see a step up in competition beginning as soon as next week.
Ball State got another solid performance from Persons, but the Cardinals are going to need more from him down the stretch to compete in Mid-American Conference play.
UP NEXT
Purdue heads down to South Carolina to participate the Charleston Classic. Its first game is against Appalachian State on Thursday.
Ball State also will be part of the Charleston Classic. Its first game is against Virginia Tech on Thursday.