Nov 23, 2018 3 min read

Ryan Cline has turned into a key performer for Purdue.

Cline made five 3-pointers on his way to 17 points, and the 24th-ranked Boilermakers routed Robert Morris 84-46 Friday.

Cline was 6 for 10 from the field in his sixth straight start to begin the year. The senior guard is averaging 14.3 points after making just seven starts over his first three seasons in the program.

“(Cline) can really shoot the basketball obviously,” coach Matt Painter said. “He’s becoming a real good defender. I think he did a good job with that (Friday) but he has to be consistent in that area. When you move (from rotation) player to his spot, you have to be accountable across the board.”

Carsen Edwards led Purdue with 19 points, helping the Boilermakers (5-1) bounce back from their first loss of the season Sunday night against No. 13 Virginia Tech. Edwards was 5 for 17 from the field against the Colonials, but also contributed five assists, four steals and a blocked shot.

Purdue used an 11-0 run to open a 59-28 lead with 10:47 left in the second half. The Boilermakers led by as many as 43 points.

“I think we have good stretches and we have bad stretches,” Painter said. “We’re really trying to search for some consistency. We had stretches where we didn’t do a good job of executing. I was pleased once again with our rebounding. That’s probably the most consistent part for us.”

The bigger Boilermakers enjoyed a 43-27 rebounding advantage and made 20 of 23 foul shots, compared to 8 for 10 at the line for the Colonials.

“Our shot selection isn’t good at times because we go too quick in a possession,” Painter said. “When we do show poise and execute, I think we’ve been pretty good offensively. We have to keep putting ourselves in position to win games.”

Malik Petteway led Robert Morris with 10 points. The Colonials (3-3) shot 31.5 percent (17 for 54) from the field.

Cline went 5 for 7 from 3-point range.

“We wanted to see how we bounced back from that loss, which a team has to do to push forward,” Cline said.

Michigan 83, Chattanooga 55: Iggy Brazdeikis scored 20 points and Jordan Poole added 14 to lead No. 9 Michigan to an easy 83-55 victory over Chattanooga.

Kentucky 77, Tennessee State 62: Keldon Johnson scored a career-high 27 points to lead No. 10 Kentucky to a 77-62 win over Tennessee State.

Stanford 67, Middle Tennessee 54: Stanford beat Middle Tennessee 67-54 on Friday in the seventh-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis. KZ Okpala scored 22 points to lead the Cardinal.

Virginia 53, Wisconsin 46: Fourth-ranked Virginia beat No. 25 Wisconsin 53-46 to win the Battle 4 Atlantis championship. De’Andre Hunter was named the tournament MVP after scoring 20 points against the Badgers. Ethan Happ had 22 points, 15 rebounds and six assists for the Badgers.