WEST LAFAYETTE — On consecutive possessions Tuesday night, Purdue center Isaac Haas showed the range of his ability.
Ryan Cline missed a 3-pointer, followed his miss and made a leaping save to prevent the ball from going out of bounds by throwing it to Spike Albrecht. The Crown Point graduate zipped a no-look pass to Haas, who dunked emphatically.
Forty seconds later, the 7-foot-2 junior made a noticeably nimble move to score.
Those sequences were part of a 24-point performance for Haas, who helped the No. 21 Boilermakers rout Illinois 91-68 in a Big Ten game at Mackey Arena. In 22 minutes, he posted his highest point total since he scored 26 on Nov. 21 against Utah State.
In his fourth straight game off the bench, Haas took advantage of the matchup against the Illini (12-7, 2-4) — as did Caleb Swanigan. Haas converted 9-for-12 as the Boilermakers (15-4, 4-2) shot 60.4 percent (32-for-53).
Swanigan registered another double-double with 22 points, including 18 in the second half, and 10 rebounds. The sophomore forward shot 7-for-15 after he missed his first five.
“It was definitely surprising they didn’t double as much as I was expecting them to,” Haas said. “When I’m left one-on-one on the block, coach always tells us to score it, me and Biggie.
“I was one-on-one, and my mentality is just to score it every time I get the ball. That’s what led to a good game, all the work I’ve been putting in getting back from that tough stretch.”
Purdue coach Matt Painter liked Haas’ approach.
“We try to get him to work towards starting his race in terms of posting up at the best possible position,” Painter said. “If he’s starting that race early and works toward getting deep position, it really puts people in a bind. He worked hard to get as deep as he could.”
While Haas and Swanigan flourished, perimeter shooting propelled Purdue early. The Boilermakers had a 15-5 lead six minutes into the game as they went 5-for-7 from 3-point range.
Carsen Edwards finished with 14 points, shooting 6-for-7. The freshman guard scored 10 straight points, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers then converting back-to-back drives in a span of 1:40 to give Purdue a 19-5 lead.
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“I just try to focus on the defensive end and hope my offensive game will come,” Edwards said.
Albrecht played a strong game, contributing five points, two rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes. The graduate transfer guard scored on a nifty drive after pump-faking a 3-pointer and shot 3-for-4 from the foul line.
“He was unbelievable,” Haas said of Albrecht. “He was wheelin’ and dealin’, and putting those guys in the mixer. It was fun to play with him on the court. … It was pretty special.”
After missing seven games with a back injury, Albrecht was playing his fifth game, logging his most minutes since coming back.
“He got a little bit more of an opportunity,” Painter said. “In all fairness to him, he’s going to play better if he plays more. He got some more minutes and that was good to see. The more he can play, the more comfortable he’s going to be out on the court.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff