PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Trey Kaufman-Renn had 21 points and eight rebounds, and fourth-seeded Purdue held off High Point for a 75-63 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Big Ten player of the year Braden Smith added 20 points and six assists as Purdue (23-11) avoided a first-round exit after reaching the championship game last season. The Boilermakers will meet the winner of Clemson and McNeese State in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday.
D’Maurian Williams had 12 points for No. 13 seed High Point (29-6), which had won 14 straight. Trae Benham added 11 points.
The game was tight throughout the first half before Purdue used a 17-7 surge to take a 37-27 halftime lead.
High Point cut a 10-point halftime deficit to 59-56 on a dunk by Juslin Bodo Bodo with 7:47 left. But Kaufman-Renn slowed High Point's surge with a tough fadeaway jumper — part of a 7-0 spurt for the Boilermakers.
“The game was so back and forth the entire time and I think me and Trey and all these other guys who have been through it, we understand how to keep our composure and stay with the game," Smith said.
Boilermakers coach Matt Painter said the leadership of his veteran players was key.
“You get into trouble when you don’t move into the next play,” Painter said. “We all get caught into it. The crowd gets into it or it gets to be a close game, you can still do your job.”
High Point: The Panthers have much to build on after making the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance. The program made the move up to Division I in 1999 but hadn’t been able to break through before coach Alan Huss got the team into the field in his second season. Huss could be a hot commodity in the offseason coaching carousel.
Purdue: Seniors Smith, Caleb Furst and Fletcher Loyer were freshmen in 2023 when the Boilermakers became the second No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed. All three were key in helping steady the Boilermakers down the stretch.
Huss believes how his staff used the transfer portal to bring in experienced players over the first two years is a formula than can be replicated.
“We certainly hope so,” Huss said. “Doesn’t matter where you come from. If you come to High Point, you’re going to have an experience that’s better than where you came from.”
The Boilermakers did most of their damage underneath the basket. They owned a 45-24 rebounding edge and outscored the Panthers 38-22 in the paint.
“That’s what won us the game,” Kaufman-Renn said. “I think we have done a better job lately on rebounding, put more of an emphasis on it from a player standpoint and we got to keep that up if we want to keep winning.”
Purdue is back in the tournament for the 16th time and 10th consecutive season under Painter, who is looking for his first NCAA title.
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
High Point guard D'Maurian Williams (4) celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer against Purdue during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Senator Steve Daines, a strong supporter of President Donald Trump met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, with warm exchanges in front of journalists on Saturday even as tensions between their countries spiked over trade tariffs and the handling of the illegal trade in fentanyl.
Daines, the first member of Congress to visit Beijing since Trump took office in January, will meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday and the nation's No. 2 official will give him an introduction to China's policies, according to He.
Daines, who previously worked for American consumer goods company Procter & Gamble in south China's economic hub of Guangzhou, said this trip marked his sixth visit to China and he had met Li Qiang in 2018 when he served as the party secretary of Shanghai.
He said this visit comes at a time when there are some important issues to discuss between China and the U.S.
“I’ve always believed in having constructive dialogue and that has been the nature of all my visits to China over the course of many years,” he said.
Ahead of the trip that began on Thursday, his office said he is coordinating closely with the White House and will be “carrying President Trump’s America First agenda.” Daines served as a go-between during the first Trump administration when tariffs were also a major issue.
Daines, a senator for Montana, said on X earlier this week that he would be talking with Chinese officials about curbing the production and distribution of fentanyl and “the need to reduce the trade deficit and ensure fair market access for our Montana farmers, ranchers and producers.”
Just months into Trump's second term, tensions between the world’s two largest economies have risen after the U.S. imposed 20% duties on Chinese goods and drew retaliatory tariffs of 15% on U.S. farm goods from China. Additionally, the U.S. accuses China of doing too little to stop the export of precursor materials for fentanyl, a highly potent opiate blamed for tens of thousands of deaths in the U.S.
In response, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi earlier this month accused Washington of “meeting good with evil” and said China will continue to retaliate for the United States’ “arbitrary tariffs."
Beijing also responded with a report detailing its efforts to control the illegal trade in fentanyl, specifically the ingredients for the opioid that are made in China.
The report said that China and the U.S. have held multiple high-level meetings since early last year to promote cooperation, and that its Narcotics Control Bureau holds regular exchanges with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
China is committed to cooperation, the report said, “but firmly opposes the U.S. imposition of unlawful sanctions and unreasonable pressure on China on the pretext of responding to fentanyl-related issues.”
Daines arrived in Beijing on Thursday and exchanged views with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on bilateral relations and issues of mutual concern on the second day. His trip to the Chinese capital followed a visit to Vietnam where he met top leaders.
U.S. Senator Steve Daines, center, looks at Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, left before their meeting held in the Xinjiang Room at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, second right, holds talks with U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, second from left, before a meeting held at the Xinjiang Room at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, right, shows the way for U.S. Sen. Steve Daines before a meeting held in the Xinjiang Room at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, right, shakes hands with U.S. Senator Steve Daines before a meeting held in the Xinjiang Room at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)
