NCAA Tournament roundup: Fletcher Loyer, Purdue outlast Miami to make Sweet 16
St. Louis – Fletcher Loyer was the model of efficiency on Sunday. The Purdue guard scored a game-high 24 points on just seven shot attempts, lifting the second-seeded Boilermakers to a 79-69 win over seventh-seeded Miami in the second round of the NCAA Tournament's West Region.
Loyer made 6 of 7 shots from the field, including all four of his 3-point tries, and canned eight free throws without a miss as Purdue (29-8) earned a spot in the regional semifinals Thursday against 11th-seeded Texas (21-14). Loyer, formerly of Clarkston, Mich. , is the son of John Loyer, who was a Detroit Pistons assistant coach from 2011-14.
NCAA TOURNAMENT SCOREBOARD Trey Kaufman-Renn added 19 points and nine rebounds for the Boilermakers, who hit 25 of 47 shots from the field and connected on 21 of 22 at the foul line. C. J.
Cox contributed 11 points before leaving early in the second half with an apparent knee injury and not returning. Purdue won without a typical Braden Smith game. The senior point guard, who became the NCAA's career assist leader in Friday's opening-round game, made only 3 of 11 shots and scored 12 points while committing a career-high-tying eight turnovers.
Smith did dish out eight assists. Freshman Shelton Henderson paced the Hurricanes (26-9) with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Malik Reneau added 16 points and Tre Donaldson scored 13 but made only 4 of 12 attempts.