HONOLULU — Zach Edey had 28 points and 15 rebounds and carried No. 2 Purdue to a 78-75 win over No. 4 Marquette in the championship game of the Maui Invitational on Wednesday.
The early-season matchup of undefeated teams in a tournament stacked with five teams ranked among the top 11 nationally did not disappoint.
Edey, the reigning national player of the year, shot 11-of-19 from the field and led the Boilermakers (6-0) to their first Maui Invitational title.
Purdue led by as many as 15 points early in the second half. Marquette chipped away and pulled within 76-75 on a basket by Oso Ighodaro with less than a minute to play, but Edey gave his team some breathing room with a right-handed putback of Braden Smith‘s missed layup for a 78-75 lead with 18 seconds remaining.
Marquette had two chances to tie it, but 3-point attempts by Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones in the closing seconds failed to drop.
Marquette was attempting to become the first team to record wins over the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams in the country in back-to-back games since Loyola Chicago defeated No. 2 Duke, followed by a victory over No. 1 Cincinnati, in the 1963 Final Four. The Golden Eagles’ win over No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday was their third over a top-ranked team in program history.
Smith scored 18 points and Fletcher Loyer added 10 for Purdue.
Kolek had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, and Kam Jones added 17 points and five assists for the Golden Eagles (5-1).
Lance Jones hit a desperation heave from three-quarters the length of the court at the first-half buzzer to give Purdue a 45-33 lead at the break.
It was the second straight year that the teams faced off. Purdue posted a 75-70 win over Marquette last season.
Purdue is all but certain to move to No. 1 by virtue of its three wins over teams ranked in the top 11, including No. 7 Tennessee on Tuesday. It would be the Boilermakers’ first time atop the AP poll since Feb. 20, 1978
UP NEXT
Purdue: Hosts Texas Southern on Tuesday in the second meeting between the schools.
Marquette: Will face Southern at home on Tuesday before playing at in-state rival Wisconsin on Dec. 2.