Nathan Baird

nbaird@jconline.com

Dakota Mathias came to Purdue to shoot the ball.

P.J. Thompson takes a pass-first approach, but he squares up with confidence from 3-point range when needed.

Matt Painter brought both freshman guards into his program to stretch defenses and capitalize on the inside-out dynamic provided by his dual 7-footers. Thompson and Mathias showed what that plan can look like when it works, making 8 of 11 3s to fuel a 90-49 exhibition victory over Carroll College at Mackey Arena on Friday night.

"When we watched film, we knew this team was going to pack it in on the weak side to help take care of our 7-footers," said Thompson, who built off of a seven-point, five-assist, four-steal performance in the first exhibition. "We knew if we moved on the weak side and set screens for each other and spotted up, we were going to get some looks.

"Our teammates did a really good job of feeding us the ball, and we were fortunate enough to knock some shots down. But really, it all goes to the presence of our bigs and them drawing all the attention and us feeding off of that."

Thompson made 4 of 6 from behind the arc while leading Purdue in points (16) and minutes (19). Mathias made 4 of 5 3s to account for all 12 of his points. The rest of the Boilermakers went 1 for 16 from 3-point range. The one make came from Kendall Stephens, the team's other top perimeter threat, who missed his other five tries.

Both Thompson and Mathias benefited from another solid ball-sharing performance, with the Boilermakers totaling 20 assists on 32 field goals. (Stephens offset the shooting slump with four assists and no turnovers.) On Mathias' second 3-pointer, Isaac Haas accepted a post feed and passed to Vince Edwards near the free throw line. Edwards then kicked back out to an open Mathias for the 3.

Carroll College coach Carson Cunningham, like Painter a former Purdue guard, said of the Boilermakers after the game, "They're going to be really good if they move the ball like that."

Despite Carroll's lack of size, the NAIA program from Helena, Montana did its best to deny opportunities to Boilermaker centers A.J. Hammons and Haas. They combined for 14 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes, and Hammons blocked two shots.

But after opening the game 0 for 6, Purdue made 6 of 10 3s going into halftime.

"When you've got two 7-footers down there that are very talented, teams are going to pack it in," said Mathias, who admitted he is still struggling day to day with illnesses that followed him through the offseason. "To have weapons outside that can make shots, that's going to be huge."

Painter acknowledged both the 6-4 Mathias, from Elida, Ohio, and the 5-10 Thompson, an Indianapolis native who played at Brebeuf, add a shooting threat. But he said both are on the floor for their intangibles — the basketball IQ and savvy that helped them combine for three assists and three steals.

"There's nothing wrong, if you're not skilled, if you play intelligently," Painter said, referring to the downfall of the previous two Purdue squads. "But when you don't shoot well from the perimeter and you don't play intelligently from the perimeter, it's a recipe for disaster.

"Even though P.J. Thompson and Dakota Mathias give us better shooters on the perimeter, their strength is the way they think the game. They're intelligent. They get it; they know what's going on. They reverse it — the ball doesn't stick in their hands."

Jon Octeus and Rapheal Davis, the Boilermakers' two veteran leaders, totaled nine points and an assist during an 11-0 second-half run. Davis finished a fast break with a one-handed slam, then converted an and-one basket to finish another transition stretch.

Davis finished with 11 points, as did Bryson Scott off the bench. While Painter admitted his team wasn't tested much during the two exhibition games, he could point to strong contributions throughout his main 11-man rotation.

"It goes back to just the culture of the team we have right now, and the locker room with all the new guys that came in, including these two guys," Davis said, referring to Mathias and Thompson. "Just the willingness of them, wanting to come in and pass the ball, wanting to share the ball. I don't think they have a selfish bone to them. Everyone wants to come in and play together and have fun with each other."