The Associated Press

Purdue's Brett Buscher. (Frank Oliver/Journal and Courier photo) | ZOOM |

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's new-look roster produced anything but the same old results and gave plenty of reasons for early optimism. Kenny Lowe led five players in double figures with 12 points as the Boilermakers beat Miami 73-46 Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

Purdue, trying to shake off a 13-18 season in which it missed postseason play for the first time since 1989, was erratic offensively until going on a 28-10 run in the second half.

The Boilermakers started three players - Lowe, Brandon McKnight and Ivan Kartelo - who weren't on the active roster last season, along with two holdovers in Brett Buscher and Willie Deane.

"We're just trying to blend the right people together. We're not sure who are starters are yet," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "Eventually, I hope we get that solidified."

Juby Johnson scored 17 for the RedHawks, who missed 17 straight shots and shot only 34 percent from the field.

The Boilermakers started their run early in the second half. Buscher fell out of bounds as he caught an outlet pass from Deane. He tossed up a twisting, one-handed shot that hung on the rim before softly falling in. Buscher made the free throw for a 35-18 lead.

Deane, last year's Big Ten Conference scoring leader, hit a 3-pointer three minutes into the second half for a 39-21 lead.

Buscher, Deane and Chris Booker each scored 11. David Teague added 10 and went 3-for-9 from 3-point range.

"This is a very unselfish team. We've got a lot of guys who can score," Lowe said. "But defense is our main priority."

Purdue's Chris Booker steals the ball from Miami's Bryan Reed in first half action at Mackey Arena. (Frank Oliver/Journal and Courier photo) | ZOOM |

Miami, playing at Mackey Arena for the first time since a 1984 victory, cut its deficit to 41-31 after a 3-point play by Johnson, but that was as close as it got.

Teague hit a baseline 3-pointer, and Booker made consecutive baskets in the paint to make it 48-31, start the run and put the game away.

McKnight and Lowe had steals on two straight Miami possessions and turned them into uncontested layups during the streak. The RedHawks had 16 turnovers.

"I heard Gene say they weren't very good on defense last year," said RedHawks coach Charlie Coles. "I'm not sure how good they're going to be this year, but they put a lot of pressure on the ball tonight."

After shooting 44 percent in the first half, the Boilermakers used the run to finish at 51 percent. They made 15 of 19 free throws and had a 40-23 rebounding advantage.

The RedHawks missed their final 13 shots of the first half, and Purdue closed on a 15-4 run to lead 30-18. Miami shot 27 percent in the half.

The Boilermakers learned before the game they will be without senior guard Darmetreis Kilgore for at least three weeks. He broke a bone in his right hand at practice on Thursday.

WEST VIRGINIA: First-year Mountaineers coach John Beilein had two players leave the program Friday, just before the night's season opener against Delaware State.

Tobias Seldon quit the team for personal reasons, while Jay Hewitt took an undisclosed leave of absence, Beilein said.

Seldon scored two points in each of West Virginia's exhibition games, playing eight minutes.Hewitt played in just one of the games and didn't score.