The Purdue Calumet men’s basketball team racked up its third straight Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference win with a 77-61 victory over crosstown rival Calumet College of St. Joseph Saturday afternoon at the Fitness and Rec Center.
Noah Allen (Flora, Ind./Carroll) led all scorers with 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting while Aaron Davis (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) and Ryan Rader (Lombard, Ill./Willowbrook) each chipped in with 15 points to lead the Peregrines (6-6, 3-1).
Both teams started the game off trading baskets as there were five lead changes in the first six minutes. The Peregrines would then take a 23-15 lead on an Allen three point field goal with just over 10 minutes in the first half.
The Black and Gold would continue to take control throughout the first frame, increasing their lead to as many as 12 points before closing out the period with a 41-32 advantage at the break.
A baseline dunk by Kaspars Brencans (Riga, Latvia/Florida Air Academy) gave the Peregrines a 58-44 lead at the 10:48 mark, before junior guard Dayvohn Braxton (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) gave the Black and Gold their largest lead of the game, 69-47, with his free throw at the 5:50 mark to put the Peregrines up by 22.
Purdue Calumet continued to pressure the Crimson Wave (8-7, 1-4 CCAC), as the Peregrines lead never dropped below 15 points, closed out by a perfect 4-for-4 showing at the line by Allen and Davis down the stretch.
Purdue Calumet shot a blistering 60.0 percent (30 of 50) from the field, while outrebounding the Crimson Wave 34-28 and scoring 46 points in the paint compared to just 18 for CCSJ. The Peregrines' showing from the field was best outing since Purdue Calumet shot 59.2 percent in a loss against Holy Cross last February.
Brencans finished with 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting and Braxton had eight points for the Peregrines. Sophomore Danny Paschen (Schererville, Ind./Schererville) added six points and a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench.
Franqlin Gaston went 4 of 6 from downtown for the Crimson Wave, notching 18 points and gathered three rebounds and two steals to lead the visitor in a losing effort, and Michael Brooks added 15 points.
The Peregrines will be back in action Wednesday, Dec. 31, as they head to Joliet, Ill. to take on the University of St. Francis (Ill.) in a CCAC matchup starting at 2 p.m.