Purdue transfer Lance Jones unfazed by Assembly Hall: 'It was nothing like Mackey'
BLOOMINGTON — Lance Jones hasn’t been in many situations like this.
The Southern Illinois transfer joined Purdue this offseason, making the jump from the Missouri Valley Conference to the Big Ten — the best team in the Big Ten. A team with a lofty ranking and larger target, garnering raucous boos from every conference arena.
Even more so against IU, the in-state rival who flipped the script and swept the season series against the Boilermakers last year.
Jones experienced his first rivalry game in a hostile environment Tuesday, running out of the Assembly Hall tunnel to screeching boos from the IU faithful. That quickly turned to momentous cheers for the Hoosiers.
The cheers and boos alternated loud as ever as the game started — the noise got as loud as 100 decibels, even in the nosebleed seats.
But Jones wasn’t fazed. Not at all.
“It was cool,” Jones said. “It was nothing like Mackey, though. That’s all I have to say.”
DOYEL: Taunting Zach Edey is weird. Especially after he just did *that* to your beloved Hoosiers.
PLAYER RATINGS: Boilers roll into Assembly Hall and dominate
Jones has a point — just the close-knit configuration of Mackey Arena in West Lafayette lends itself to a louder environment. That environment helped Jones and the rest of the Boilermakers easily cut through Hoosiers fans’ cheers — and they made sure they stayed silent with a 51-29 first half.
The Hoosiers surged on a 22-9 run to start the second half, but Purdue never let IU got closer than nine points. The Boilermakers coasted to victory, 87-66. Some fans packed up at the under-8 timeout of the second half, and many more left their seats at the under-4. By the time the game ended, Assembly Hall was barely half-full.
“We knew we were in control that whole game, right from the tip,” sophomore Fletcher Loyer said. “I think just sticking with one another … but also not caring if it gets a little loud in there. It also got real quiet when they left with four minutes left.”
Jones was one of the most efficient players on the court in that victory, scoring 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting — 3-of-7 from 3-point range.
“Just letting the game come to me,” Jones said. “... Shoot the shots that are open and be aggressive when it’s time to be aggressive, and I felt like I did that tonight, and I didn’t want to force anything.”
The Boilermakers’ resilience Tuesday night gave them a signature road win — something they’ve been looking for all season. Purdue’s other big victories came at neutral sites, including No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 7 Tennessee, and No. 4 Marquette in Hawaii, and No. 1 Arizona in Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
“It's really helped our resume. Outside of winning at Maryland, we haven’t really played that well on the road,” coach Matt Painter said, referring to road losses at Northwestern and Nebraska. “We needed a game like this. We needed to play better, shoot better … when you get into these rivalry games, anything can go.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue basketball: Lance Jones, Boilermakers quiet IU, Assembly Hall
