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Notre Dame beats Purdue by 31

Dec 21, 2014 - 3:05 AM Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Pat Connaughton recorded a double- double of 19 points and 14 rebounds and No. 21 Notre Dame bested Purdue, 94- 63, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Saturday's Crossroads Classic matchup proved the Irish (11-1) have bragging rights in the Hoosier State, what with seven straight victories following their lone loss against Providence on Nov. 23.

All five Notre Dame starters scored in double figures and Austin Torres donated 11 points off the bench for the victors. Demetrius Jackson led the way with 22 points, Steve Vasturia chipped in with 11, and Jerian Grant and Zach Auguste each added 10 in the rout.

Jon Octeus, Bryson Scott and A.J. Hammons all scored 11 points as the Boilermakers (8-4) suffered their second straight loss.

"I felt Notre Dame simply stole our spirit and our guys gave in," Purdue head coach Matt Painter said.

Purdue actually led by eight six minutes in, but Notre Dame answered with the next 11 points to take a 19-16 lead.

It was even, 29-29, before another spurt, this one a 13-2 stretch, gave the Irish the lead for good.

Vasturia's bucket yielded a 42-31 lead, and it was a 46-39 game at the break.

A Grant 3-pointer extended the margin to 59-46 early in the second half, and the Boilermakers never pulled within single digits over the final 13 minutes.

"We got our offense flowing," Connaughton said. "We are making the hard-nosed plays that we fell a little short on last season."

The difference reached as high as 32.

Game Notes

The Irish committed only seven turnovers, the eighth time this season they have had fewer than 10 ... Purdue, which fell to 0-4 in this event, came in averaging 76.7 points per game ... Notre Dame leads the all-time series 22-20 thanks to three straight wins.