WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Sasha Stefanovic made 5 of 6 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead No. 7 Purdue past Bellarmine 96-67 on Tuesday night.

Zach Edey added 16 points, Isaiah Thompson had 15 points, Brandon Newman 14 and Jaden Ivey 11 for the Boilermakers.

C.J. Fleming and Dylan Penn each scored 14 points for Bellarmine.

The Boilermakers, who made 16 of 34 3s, led by as many as 36 points in the second half. Purdue shot 50% for the game while the Knights were held to 41%.

Purdue broke open the game with a 19-3 run that produced a 40-23 lead. The Boilermakers led 50-37 at half.

BIG PICTURE

Purdue: The Boilermakers have won nine straight season openers by an average of 28 points and are 16-1 in openers under Matt Painter.

Bellarmine: The Knights are in their second season in Division I and aren’t afraid to play the big boys. Last year they opened against Duke, and this season they’ll play No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 UCLA on back-to-back nights next week.

TIP-INS

Purdue will be back to full strength after Mason Gillis serves two more games in his four-game suspension, which included the team’s exhibition. Gillis, a sophomore forward who started 23 games last season, was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated in June. … Purdue announced before the game it plans to redshirt freshmen Trey Kaufman-Renn and Brian Waddell.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Boilermakers likely enhanced its No. 7 ranking with a dominant performance in the second half.

UP NEXT:

Bellarmine visits Murray State on Saturday.

Purdue hosts Indiana State on Friday.

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