West Lafayette, IN—Purdue showed why it is ranked Number 11 in the country as they jumped out to a big early lead and rolled to an easy 93-55 win over Howard University in a non-conference men's game at Mackey Arena before 11, 983.
    
It did not help the undermanned and battered Bison (6-4) that they were missing three starters who combine for 52 points among them.
    
Howard played without the services of junior guard James "JT" Miller, who is out for four weeks with a hand fracture; junior forward Solomon "Solo" Mangham, who has a high ankle sprain; and junior guard James "J-Byrd" Daniel, III, the nation's leading scorer at 28 points per game, who is nursing a sore toe.

But the woes do not end there.  The Bison also lost junior guard Damon Collins due to illness at halftime and Kofi Andoh to a broken nose in the second half.  Collins was accompanied by head coach Kevin Nickelberry, had to go to the local hospital and was released.
    
"This is the wrong team to play when you are shorthanded," said Nickelberry.  "They are very physical and they are very deep.  You can see why they are ranked 11^th."   
    
With four starters out for the Bison, the tall and deep Boilermakers (10-0) utilized their huge size inside that features two 7 footers and some sizzling outside shooting to put the Bison away early.  They shot 58 percent from the field to start the game, including 50 percent (7 of 14) from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
    
Haas and his backup AJ Hammons took turns getting the ball down low and Howard had no answer as they went five for 9 in the paint area.
    
Then when the Bison shifted their attention to the Twin Towers, the perimeter Purdue players got open looks, creating a perfect inside-outside combination.
    
The Bison meanwhile were unable to get anything going as they played with players who were understandably unfamiliar with each other.
    
Caleb Swanigan, a 6-9 freshman forward for the Boilmakers, did most of the damage, recording a double double of 19 points and 12 rebounds.
    
Eleven different Purdue players scored in a balanced attack.  Freshman Kendall Stephens came off the bench to tally 14 points while Raphael Davis added 10 for Purdue.
    
The Bison got a fine effort from sophomore guard Dalique Mingo, who scored a team-high 14 points and just missed a double double with a career-high 9 rebounds off the bench.  Junior center Marcel Boyd battled against the Twin Towers and showed well, finishing with 12 points before fouling out in the second half.
    
Howard got a spirited performance from reserves, red-shirt freshman guard Jalen Jones  (5 points, career-high 8 rebounds) and Oliver Ellison (6 points, 3 rebounds) in a losing effort.

NEXT UP: The Bison return home for a matchup against Radford University on Saturday at 4 pm in Burr.