The Purdue University Calumet men’s basketball team continued its strong finish to the 2014-15 season with Wednesday’s gritty 58-52 conference victory at rival Calumet College of St. Joseph.
The Peregrines (15-13, 10-8 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference) used a season-high 29 points from senior Aaron Davis (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) and junior Ryan Rader (Lombard, Ill./Willowbrook) added 10 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season to lead Purdue Calumet, which has won five of its last six.
Junior Duron Ivery (South Bend, Ind./Washington) added seven points and our assists and senior Noah Allen (Flora, Ind./Carroll) added five points, six boards and came up with a block in the final play to seal it for the Peregrines.
Both teams battled in the early minutes before the Peregrines executed a 13-0 run that put the Black and Gold up 13 (18-5) with 9:25 to play before the break. Davis drained two free throws, hit a jumper and drilled two straight 3s to key the run, which also saw two jumpers by Rader.
At halftime, Purdue Calumet led by nine, 32-23.
The Peregrines led by as many as 14 (37-23) with 17:25 to play before host Calumet College (13-15, 6-12) used a 22-7 run to cut the lead to just one, 45-44, with 5:06 left. The Peregrines struggled to find offense during that stretch, as Purdue Calumet went nearly eight minutes without a field goal until Davis hit his fifth 3 of the game at the 11:45 mark.
The Peregrines didn’t have another field goal for nearly another five minutes after that, but still found themselves up five, 43-38, on a Allen jumper at the 6:58 mark. CCSJ’s Franqlin Gatson hit a trifecta to bring the home team within one (43-42), but the Crimson Wave was never able to take the lead down the stretch, much in part to the Peregrines’ 11-16 performance at the free throw line in the final 5:16.
Sophomore Danny Paschen (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) finished with 10 boards to help the Peregrines hold a 48-38 advantage on the boards. Neither team found much touch from the field, as Purdue Calumet shot 29.6 percent (16 of 54) compared to 29.8 percent (17 of 57) for CCSJ.
The Peregrines did gain a sizable edge at the free-throw line, making 19 of 27 (70.4 percent) compared to a 9 of 16 performance (56.3 percent) by the Crimson Wave.
Brian Brilmeyer led CCSJ with 13 points and Michael Brooks had 11 points in the setback.
Purdue Calumet closes out the regular season with Saturday’s 3 p.m. contest against CCAC rival Purdue North Central at the Fitness and Recreation Center. The Peregrines appear to be a lock for the No. 3 seed in the CCAC South Division, which would send Purdue Calumet to the North Division #2 seed (currently occupied by St. Xavier) for a spot in the CCAC quarterfinals on Wed., Feb. 25.
On Saturday, the Peregrines will honor their three seniors: Allen, Davis, and Kaspars Brencans (Riga, Latvia/Florida Air Academy), as well as celebrate Alumni Day and Future Peregrine Day, with special receptions honoring Purdue Cal and Purdue North Central alumni and future Purdue Calumet students set at the Fitness and Recreation Center.