For Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer, consolation was not the prize.

Banishing the memory of a forgettable opening-round performance, Loyer scored a career-high 27 points to boost the second-ranked Boilermakers past No. 7 Tennessee 71-67 and into today’s championship of the Allstate Maui Invitational.

“It’s a huge tournament you grew up watching,” Loyer said of the eight-team tournament, which was relocated to SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center this year. “It’s Hawaii, no better place you can be right now. … We didn’t come here to play for that third-place, fourth-place game. We came here to win it.”

The Boilermakers did not take the easy path, hitting 20% of their first-half shots, losing containment on Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht early, and missing 19 free throws. What’s more, last year’s national player of the year — 7-foot-4, 300-pound center Zach Edey — picked up his fourth foul with nine minutes to play and the outcome still in suspense.

But 6-foot-10 junior Caleb Furst and 6-9 Trey Kaufman-Renn provided low-post aggressiveness in Edey’s absence. And Loyer energized the Boilermakers with his shooting, floor-burning hustle, and intrusive defense.

“Not the most athletic,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said of the 6-4 Loyer, but “just a winner. A guy who’s going to do some little things to help your team win.”

In Monday’s opener against Gonzaga, Loyer missed all six of his shots, including three from behind the arc, and finished with a single point in 24 minutes. And then he suffered amnesia.

“Nobody wants to go 0-for-5 or 0-for-6 or whatever it was,” Loyer said. “But just sticking with it, coming back with the same confidence I had — whether I had zero points or 30 (on Monday) — it’s a new game. It’s another game we have to win. Whether it’s me getting 27 or me getting 2, I’m here to help my team win.”

Loyer scored the Boilermakers’ first seven points on two 14-foot jumpers and an all-net 3. The first of his three steals came when he was on his back. The last theft was with Purdue clinging to a 62-61 lead with 3:34 to play.

In the first half, the Boilermakers struggled to track Knecht, whose name is fittingly pronounced “connect.” Knecht was 5-for-8 for 13 points n the first half, including a drive past Edey for a layup. “You just can’t let him cork it like that,” Painter said of Knecht. “He’s a good player. He can post you a little bit and he can go off the dribble.”

After the intermission, the Boilermakers were able to attack the ball screens, denying Knecht access to creases into the lane. Knecht missed four of five shots in the second half.

Purdue also weathered iffy free-throw shooting. The Volunteers committed 31 fouls, with Edey drawing nine of them. But Edey, who was 9-for-10 on free throws against Syracuse, missed his first six on Tuesday. After hitting his first free throw, he signaled in relief. Edey took teammate Mason Gillis’ advice not to “aim” his shots. After the first six misses, Edey went 9-for-11 from the line, finishing with 23 points.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Edey, who is skilled on screen-and-rolls and baseline moves, is difficult to defend.

“They do a good job of getting him the ball,” Barnes said. “Zach is certainly worthy of national player of the year.”