PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Matt Painter tried to warn his team about Jake Ohmer.

“I told our guys, I said, ‘Do not leave him,’ ” the Purdue coach Painter said. “ ‘Do not let him shoot. He averaged 29 points in high school.’ I went through the whole thing about him.”

So much for that. The Western Kentucky guard scored 15 points Thursday for the Hilltoppers in a 77-73 upset of the 18th-ranked Boilermakers in a second-round consolation matchup at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Ohmer scored 13 of his points at Imperial Arena in the first half, going 4-of-4 from the field, 3-of-3 from 3-point range and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.

“Ohmer’s the difference,” Painter said of the first half, which WKU won 42-31.

The 6-foot-1 guard has earned the respect of teammates and coaches for his toughness and ability to make shots in big moments. He’s now hit eight of nine field goal attempts and all five of his 3-point shots over WKU’s first two games in the Bahamas, both of which have come against ranked teams.

Ohmer scored nine points off the bench Wednesday in a 66-58 loss to No. 5 Villanova before going for 15 against No. 18 Purdue.

“It was a great experience,” Ohmer said. “I love playing with all the kids on the team. It’s just fun to be able to win and play with everybody.

“We go out and battle every day. We came out and fought today and came out with the win.”

Ohmer was a big reason WKU came up with that victory Thursday.

Coach Rick Stansbury subbed the guard into the game for the first time with 14:18 left in the first half. The Taylor Mill native hit two 3-pointers over the next two minutes, his second putting the Hilltoppers up 21-12 with 12:25 to play.

Ohmer hit a jumper to give WKU a 25-16 lead with 9:52 left, then buried a 3 with five seconds to go in the half, making the Toppers’ halftime lead 42-31.

Ohmer scored once in the second half, a fast-break layup off a Lamonte Bearden assist that gave WKU a 58-52 lead with 8:52 left.

“I’ve coached at low-major and mid-major, and it’s no disrespect to him, but I’ve seen guys just like him,” Painter said of Ohmer. “They walk through, they don’t pass the look test, and they’ll kill you.”

Watching Ohmer on Thursday night, it could be easy to forget that eight months ago he was committed to NAIA’s University of the Cumberlands. That changed when Stansbury watched him score 106 points across three state tournament games, leading Scott High School to the Kentucky state semifinals.

Stansbury offered him a scholarship one day after the Eagles were knocked out by eventual state champ Bowling Green. Ohmer committed and hasn’t looked back since.

“Me and coach sat there and watched every game he played (at the Kentucky state tourney),” forward Justin Johnson said. “People kept coming to coach and saying things he couldn’t do, and me and coach sat there like, ‘That dude can play.’

“He’s shown us that every day with his toughness. That dude can play with anyone on the court.”

For the season, Ohmer is now averaging 11 points per game, and is shooting 51.7 percent from the floor and 45 percent from the 3-point line.

The freshman played a key role in WKU’s upset over Purdue, and earned praise from the Boilermakers’ coach in the process.

“I love guys like that,” Painter said. “They’ve always been slighted because they’re 5-11 and 165 pounds, but they can play.

“Guys like that can help you win a lot of basketball games. Good for him.”