It was a top-10 heavyweight bout that at times felt like a wrestling match. But No. 2 Purdue survived No. 8 Tennessee with a 71-67 win to advance to the Maui Invitational championship game.

It was a weird game, especially the first half with Fletcher Loyer and Zach Edey scoring 27 of Purdue’s 30 points, the Boilermakers shooting just 20% from the field and missing 10 free throws. Yet Purdue trailed by just one.

And much like against Gonzaga on Monday, the Boilers started to assert themselves on their way to another impressive, hard-fought win in one of the premier holiday tournaments.

Player ratings on a scale of 1 to 10.

STARTERS

∎ Zach Edey — He came into the game an 82.5% free throw shooter, but was an uncharacteristic 0-for-6 from the line early. He finally hit the front end of a 1-and-1 to snap a 10-0 Tennessee run and has 10 points and 8 rebounds (6 offensive) in the first half before a second (phantom) foul call sent him to the bench with 4:17 left. In the second half, he got an early dunk and then an and-1 off an offensive rebound to push Purdue’s lead to seven. But he was the victim of a harsh whistle and had at least three phantom fouls called on him. Foul trouble limited him to 26 minutes, but he still managed 23 points and 10 rebounds. However, that 9-of-17 performance from the foul line — part of a 29-of-48 team performance there — kept the Vols in the game. Rating: 6.0

∎ Trey Kaufman-Renn — When Edey goes to the bench, TKR gets more aggressive with more room in the paint. On back-to-back trips he attacked the paint (much like he did vs. Gonzaga when Edey sat) resulting in a foul (missed both FTs) and a missed hook, but you see the plan: Every time Edey goes out, TKR goes to work. Now, he only had one first-half point, but his six rebounds by halftime were a big plus. He finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds, and also struggled from the charity stripe (4-of-8). Rating: 5.5

∎ Braden Smith — That Purdue only trailed by one at halftime despite getting zero points or assists from its standout point guard seems a bit of an anomaly. He only had one assist in 35 minutes and was 2-of-9 from the field and an unfathomable 2-of-6 from the free-throw line. His drive and layup late pushed Purdue to a 70-64 lead and seemed to be the dagger, and his four defensive rebounds all seemed big. But Smith struggled to shed Tennessee’s Zakai Deigler and had a few too many wayward passes. Rating: 4.0

∎ Fletcher Loyer — Monday, Loyer’s player rating here matched his jersey number (2). Not Tuesday. Coming off an 0-for-6 performance vs. Gonzaga, Loyer came out on fire vs. Tennessee, scoring Purdue’s first seven points. He scored 17 first-half points, and really, it could have been more. He missed a few wide-open 3s, and was just 4-of-13 from the field in the first 20 minutes, but it’s hard to criticize someone who scored more than half your points in a half. He picked up where he left off to start the second half, hitting a 3 right off the bat. He finished with a team-high 27 points (on 7-of-18 shooting) and was the only Boiler not to struggle at the line, making 10-of-11. And he was doing more than just scoring. He added six rebounds and three steals and was diving on the floor for loose balls. Purdue doesn’t win this game without him. His shooting percentage is only thing keeping him from a 10 here. Rating: 9.0

∎ Lance Jones — He’s plenty fast, but seemed to get sped up at times and a had a team-high four turnovers. He was the only Boilermaker besides Loyer to hit a 3, but that was his only field goal in 30 minutes. Had a rough sequence late when he had a defensive rebound wrestled away from him that turned into a Vols layup. Then he turned the ball over with a too-hot pass and Tennessee tied the score at 61 with a 3 when Jones got caught up on a screen. Rating: 4.0

BENCH

∎ Camden Heide — He played only 7 minutes, and picked up two fouls in 3 second-half minutes that sent him to the bench, and we never saw him again. Rating: 3.0

∎ Mason Gillis — He only played 4 second-half minutes even with Edey’s foul trouble, but it looked like Matt Painter preferred Caleb Furst’s length in this one. He had a few strong offensive rebounds in the first half, but didn’t score in his 12 minutes. Rating: 4.0

∎ Caleb Furst — He was really active on the glass and on the defensive end, and was a good energy source. His free throw at 28-27 was the first point scored by a Purdue player other than Loyer or Edey. He finished with 3 points and 4 rebounds, but that stat line belies his impact, especially in the second half. Rating: 6.0

∎ Ethan Morton — Another quiet night for a guy who started nearly all of last season. He played a team-low 6 minutes and was called for a foul and a 5-second call in his brief stint. Rating: 3.0.

∎ Myles Colvin — “Purdue has gone ice-cold offensively,” ESPN’s Dan Shulman says. Cue Myles Colvin getting up from the bench, with the Boilers trailing 17-11. Now, Colvin didn’t provide an offensive boost this time, and this was the first game he didn’t hit multiple 3s. In fact, he went scoreless in just 7 minutes. He endured a tough 30-second stretch with a turnover, then a defensive rebound bounced off his foot out of bounds, which he then followed up by fouling a 3-point shooter. Again, he’s just a freshman, and a young one at that. There will be days like this. Better to happen in a win. Rating: 3.0