Purdue Boilermakers vs Miami Hurricanes Box Score on Dec 08, 2020

The short-handed Miami Hurricanes led for less than two minutes yet still found a way to secure a 58-54 comeback win over the visiting Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday night in Coral Gables, Fla.

Despite having only eight scholarship players available and playing without ACC preseason first team guard Chris Lykes (ankle), the Hurricanes (3-0) erased a 17-point second-half deficit to prevail in the first game of this year's ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

Purdue (3-2) led 44-27 with 13:23 left in the second half and by as many as 20 in the first half, capitalizing on abysmal shooting by Miami, which missed its first 15 attempts from 3-point range and trailed 32-14 at halftime.

But Kameron McGusty (18 points, five rebounds) and Isaiah Wong (11 points) helped the Canes outscore the Boilermakers 31-10 to finish the game.

McGusty's two free throws after drawing Brandon Newman's fifth foul gave the Hurricanes a 52-51 lead with 1:36 to go -- their first advantage since making a free throw to open the game's scoring. McGusty drove and made a layup, drew a foul and made another free throw on Miami's ensuing possession to extend the lead to four.

Isaiah Thompson turned the ball over in the paint with 13 seconds left, ending Purdue's realistic hopes of a last-minute comeback. McGusty hit two more free throws in the closing seconds to seal the outcome.

McGusty had Miami's only made 3-pointer with 4:55 left in the second half as the Hurricanes shot 1-for-17 from long distance.

The Hurricanes' backcourt was already depleted without freshman guard Earl Timberlake, and they sure missed 6-foot-10 forward Sam Waardenburg (out for the season with a foot injury) when trying to contain Purdue's Zach Edey, a 7-4 freshman center.

Edey finished with 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting but found himself in foul trouble for the second consecutive game. Edey fouled out with 3:11 remaining in the game.

Also for Purdue, Eric Hunter Jr. finished with 11 points and Mason Gillis had nine points and six rebounds.

Freshman Matt Cross scored all seven of his points late in the second half and helped the Canes outscore Purdue 22-4 in the paint in the second half, flipping the advantage the Boilermakers enjoyed in the first half.

--Field Level Media