The Hawks led No. 7 Purdue by nine early, and they only trailed by one at the half, but the Daily News says the Boilermakers turned up the defensive pressure and rolled to an 85-60 win last night in the semifinals of the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

All told, Saint Joe’s turned it over 23 times, 11 of which came on steals by Purdue, which deployed a stifling full-court press. Garrett Williamson finished with a game-high 12 points for the Hawks, who also made just 14 of 24 free throws (58.3 percent). Carl Jones, who previously had a hot hand, was just 1-for-9 from the field and finished with five points. And Purdue (3-0) took 71 shots to Saint Joe’s 49.

Tonight at 6, Saint Joe’s will play DePaul in the third-place game. The Blue Demons are 2-1, with wins over Columbia (59-53) and Northern Iowa (60-52) before last night’s 57-53 loss to No. 10/11 Tennessee — a game in which DePaul pressured the unbeaten Volunteers into 37.3 percent shooting and 15 turnovers. Yes, DePaul had gone 0-18 in the Big East last season before beating Cincinnati in the first round of the conference tournament, but that’s because the Blue Demons were playing mostly freshmen and sophomores who now have another year of experience.

Links: Purdue pressures past Saint Joe’s [Daily News]
DePaul preview [chicagonow.com]