ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands -- Purdue coach Matt Painter said his seventh-ranked Boilermakers were outplayed and out-toughed by South Dakota State.
However, the Boilermakers weren't outscored.
E'Twaun Moore scored 22 points and beat South Dakota State 74-63 on Friday night in the first round of the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
"The key was the flow of the game, and I thought they were tougher than us and quicker than us," Painter said. "We talked at halftime about staying tight with them and carrying out our assignments."
Robbie Hummel added 14 points despite missing much of the action because of foul trouble, and JaJuan Johnson had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Boilermakers (2-0). Purdue will play St. Joseph's on Sunday night in second round.
Clint Sargent led the Jackrabbits (2-1) with 16 points, and Garrett Callahan scored all 13 of his points in the first half.
"We were where we wanted to be," Sargent said. "We knew if we could tighten it up on offense we had a shot at this. We just stubbed our toes too many times, and in the end it cost us."
The Jackrabbits committed 18 turnovers, 12 in the second half.
"Defensively, we played good enough to win the game," South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy said. "I was displeased with the number of turnovers in the second half, but some of that was Purdue turned it up. You don't see a lot of teams that defend like they do with their physicality."
The Jackrabbits took advantage of Purdue's overaggressive defense early, making 13 of 15 free throw attempts in the first half.
Purdue led 39-37 at the half, and South Dakota State was still hanging close at the 16:08 mark on Kai Williams' basket that cut it to 41-39.
But the Boilermakers heated up. Ryne Smith's jumper ignited a 9-0 run that he capped with a 3-pointer that gave Purdue a 50-39 lead with 13:12 remaining.
"Any time you have close games, and any time somebody can outplay you and out-tough you, and you still win, those are good games," Painter said. "We have to be patient and play a lot smarter."
