EVANSTON-The Northwestern Wildcats learned a tough lesson on Wednesday night at sold-out Welsh-Ryan Arena: they are just not a good match-up for Purdue.

On Jan. 23, the Boilers laid a 20-point loss on the Wildcats, by far Northwestern’s worst of the year. They came back to Evanston on Wednesday to post a 70-64 win that left no doubt as to who the superior team was.

Don’t let the final score fool you: Purdue was in control of this one throughout the second half.

The No. 5 Boilermakers used a tried-and-true formula to put this one in the win column. In the first half, they rode their 7-foot-4 monster in the middle, Zach Edey. Then, in the second, they buried the Wildcats by shooting 50% from beyond the arc.

Northwestern didn’t play badly; it’s just that the Boilers were better. Purdue outshot, outrebounded and just plain outplayed the Wildcats.

Northwestern was led by Robbie Beran's 13 points, while Pete Nance added 12 points and Boo Buie 11.

Edey scored just four points in the second half but still led the Boilers with 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Mason Gillis and Eric Hunter Jr. tallied 11 points apiece.

Northwestern got off to a ragged start, committing three turnovers and four fouls before five minutes had elapsed. Purdue’s first four points came off of Wildcat giveaways.

But it didn’t take long for the Wildcats to right the ship. A steal by Chase Audige and ensuing fast-break layup by Ryan Young gave them a 10-8 lead. But that turned out to be Northwestern’s last lead of the game.

Purdue was in control for most of the first half by getting the ball inside to Edey. The towering center dominated with 12 points and six rebounds by halftime as the Wildcats had no answer for him in the paint, be it Nance, Young or Elyjah Williams.

The Wildcats, though, were able to hang around because of Beran, who had maybe his best half as a Wildcat. The long, thin junior forward, who is usually an afterthought in the Wildcats’ offense, had eight first-half points, including two well-timed three-pointers. He also had a block of Edey that drew a roar from purple portion of the mostly black-and-gold crowd.

Purdue led 32-28 at the break, but they quickly pushed it to double-digits in the second half and never looked back. A Gillis three from the corner followed by a Jaden Ivey three-point play gave the Boilers an 11-point edge at the 17:59 mark.

The Boilers weren’t able to pull away over the next 10 minutes, but the Wildcats weren’t able to reel them in, either. Then Purdue started hitting threes. Gillis’ third triple of the second half gave the Boilers a 12-point lead, and another three, this one by Sasha Stefanovic, increased it to 13.

Purdue just put it in cruise control from there. Northwestern closed to within five with a late flurry, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Over the last minute, Purdue’s domination spread from the court to the stands, where a “Let’s go, Boilers!” chant drowned out any noise that NU fans could muster.

It was that kind of night for Northwestern.