WEST LAFAYETTE − Jack Benter crashed the glass for an offensive rebound he likely wasn't going to be able to corral.
He was able to get a hand on it and tap it back to a teammate on the perimeter so Purdue basketball could reset its offense.
It was one of many examples of the Boilermakers' rebounding tenacity during Sunday's 87-55 exhibition victory over Ball State at Mackey Arena.
"That's been a big emphasis so far this year," Benter said. "Gang rebounding. Everybody rebounding. No leaking out. Just hitting our man, going and getting the ball.
"That's been a big part of our practice so far leading up to this first exhibition game."
How Purdue rebounds will have to come differently than it has in recent years.
But the Boilermakers, at least for now, showed a path to being a good rebounding team by committee versus one reliant on elite rebounding big men.
Ten players had at least two rebounds and six had four or more against the Cardinals.
More: Purdue basketball finds stars in new roles during Ball State exhibition
Circumstances dictated those numbers a little on Sunday.
Purdue coach Matt Painter distributed minutes pretty evenly as he continues to find the right formula when regular season games begin. The effort, however, was not minutes restricted.
By halftime, Purdue had more than doubled up Ball State on the boards and totaled 12 offensive rebounds.
"The possession war of having fewer turnovers and more rebounds is real," Painter said. "There's always a lot of changes to the game of basketball but those are the two constants that you've got to be in good spots with. You've just simply got to have more possessions than your opponent or you've got to shoot the ball really, really well. Everyone understands you're not always going to shoot the ball at a high level."
Ball State was outmatched against Purdue, had its 6-foot-11 starting center saddled with foul trouble and was competing in a road exhibition game. The overall statistics should come with a grain of salt.
But it doesn't mean nothing, especially for a Boilermaker team that highlighted its rebounding ability as a concern earlier in the summer.
Purdue returns no one who averaged more than 3 rebounds per game last season, though it should be taken into equation that Raleigh Burgess redshirted and Daniel Jacobsen, Purdue's returning leading rebounder, played limited minutes with a frontcourt that included Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn a year ago.
Caden Pierce, who led Purdue in rebounding during its four-game exhibition tour of British Columbia in July, was not on the roster last season.
Nor was Enzo Shahrvin, who was granted eligibility earlier this month after joining the Boilermakers from France. Shahrvin was Purdue's leading rebounder against Ball State with eight in 13 minutes.
Shahrvin played the fewest minutes of the 11 Boilermakers to see the floor Sunday, but added to a balanced rebounding effort that included 6 each from Jacobsen and Benter. Shahrvin was one of three Boilers with three offensive rebounds, including Antione West and Jacobsen.
"He's the perfect person that we needed for this year," Gicarri Harris said of the physical 6-foot-9 Shahrvin. "He can go out there and get you a rebound every one or two minutes when he's in the game. That is something that we need."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Rebounding by committee shows Purdue basketball can thrive on boards