WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue Boilermakers exacted revenge of the defending national champions of college basketball last night at Mackey Arena.
The unranked Boilers trounced #5 Virginia 69-40 as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. They were led by Sophmore shooting guard Sasha Stefanovic who scored 20 points in his first career start going six of ten from behind the three-point line.
“I’ve kind of dreamed of these moments,” Stefanovic said. “Playing in front of that crowd in Mackey, like I said I’ve dreamed of that moment before, it was an unbelievable night.”
“He set the tone for us,” said junior center Matt Haarms of Stefanovic. “By about the third one (three-pointer) Mackey just erupted. It’s tough to overcome that if you’re the opposing team. He was getting us going the whole night.”
Haarms finished with 11 points while Jahaad Proctor added 16 points and Eric Hunter, Jr had 10 points.
The win for Purdue snaps a 13-game winning streak for the Cavaliers dating back to last season, which includes their win over Purdue en route to a national championship in the NCAA Tournament.
It’s also the first time Purdue has beaten a team from outside the Big Ten ranked in the top five inside Mackey Arena.
The Boilers open Big Ten Conference play this Sunday against Northwestern.
(PHOTO: Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
