Liberty Flames vs Purdue Boilermakers Box Score on Nov 25, 2020

Freshman center Zach Edey scored 19 points in his collegiate debut and the Purdue Boilermakers notched a 77-64 win over the Liberty Flames on Wednesday night in a semifinal of the Space Coast Challenge Wednesday night in Melbourne, Fla.

Purdue (1-0) will play either Clemson or Mississippi State in the tournament final at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. Liberty (0-1) will play in the consolation game.

Edey made 9 of 10 shots for Purdue. He became the tallest player to ever play for Purdue at 7-foot-4.

Edey finished with five rebounds and played only 15 minutes, but helped the Boilermakers shoot 58.5 percent (31 of 53) overall. Purdue has seven scholarship freshmen or sophomores on its roster.

The Flames, who went 30-4 and were Atlantic Sun tournament champions last season, shot 6 for 17 from 3-point range in the first half, and Purdue took control of the game early.

Junior guard Darius McGhee, a preseason All-Atlantic Sun Conference selection, finished with a game-high 21 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. But McGhee struggled in the first half going 2 for 10 from 3-point range and finished 4 of 14 from 3 and shot 7 of 19 overall.

Freshman forward Micaiah Abii shot a perfect 7 for 7 from the field and finished with 19 points.

Junior forward Trevion Williams, Purdue's leading scorer and rebounder last season, got off to a slow start. After not making a shot in the first half, he finished with seven points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

Freshman guard Jaden Ivey finished with 12 points and freshman guard Brandon Newman totaled 10 points for Purdue, which is starting the season without guards Eric Hunter Jr. (broken leg) and Ethan Morton (mononucleosis).

--Field Level Media