INDIANAPOLIS — It's like watching a choreographed dance. Cam Heide follows the trajectory of Purdue teammate Mason Gillis' shot from the corner, timing his run so he's able to reach over a Utah State player and land with the offensive rebound in a clear pocket of hardwood in the middle of the lane.

The 6-7 redshirt freshman takes one dribble, steps through two defenders and launches toward the rim, throwing down a thunderous two-handed slam.

That was "the turning point," Heide said following the top-seeded Boilermakers' 106-67 win over the No. 8-seed Aggies in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

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"As soon as I dunked it, the crowd got into it and then Zach (Edey) had the block," he continued from his locker stall at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. "Coach (Matt) Painter talks a lot about giving the fans something to cheer for, and those plays back-to-back got them super involved."

Heide started the party off the bench, then freshman Myles Colvin — another of the team's reserves — kept the good times rolling, first with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 12 amidst a 16-0 run, then with an assist on a Lance Jones pullup 3 at the buzzer that averted a messy finish to the first half.

Critical plays made off the bench by two underclassmen whose roles have only expanded as the stakes continue to rise.

Heide, who's averaging 16 minutes over the past nine games, played around 15 against USU, recording 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with three rebounds and a plus-14 rating; Colvin, who's averaging 12 minutes since the Big Ten tournament, picked up nine points and three rebounds with a plus-13 over 14 minutes.

"We both do a really good job of providing that spark, pushing the lead and bringing extra energy to the team (by) executing, doing our jobs and hitting our shots," Colvin said.

Heide and Colvin's athleticism adds a necessary element to the Boilermakers' star-studded lineup. They're better able to stretch the floor, Painter observed, so when teams "overdo things" against Edey or point guard Braden Smith, Purdue has spacing and players who can step up and make those shots. "The spacing is so important for us."

Heide has proven capable of knocking down perimeter shots — he hit his 17th triple of the season against the Aggies — but he dazzled the largely Purdue-partisan crowd Sunday with his finishing around the rim. He threw down another put-back slam midway through the second half, this one off a contested jumper by Trey Kaufman-Renn. The ball ricocheted off the front of the rim to Heide, whose well-timed run had him perfectly positioned for the put-back slam. A few minutes later, he swerved through a maze of defenders and finished through contact to push Purdue's lead to 37 following the and-1.

"Cam's been great, man," Painter said of Heide, who's averaging 3.4 points. "He's really bought into defending and that's the main thing when you come off the bench, to really help our team. Can you come off the bench, take care of the basketball, defend and then everything else, like whether you can get offensive rebounds or you can get out in transition or knock down some shots."

The defensive buy-in Painter cited with Heide is what elevated Colvin into a more prominent place within Purdue's rotation.

The 6-5 true freshman, who played eight minutes or fewer in all but one Big Ten game during the regular season, has remained patient and dedicated to the process. With time, Colvin said, he's gained a better understanding of what his coaches are teaching him. He's seeing the ball, seeing the schemes and has gained a greater appreciation for "the little things" required to execute those concepts. "It's more of a mentality, just locking down on everybody, being ready and getting low," he said.

"Making defense fun is really what brought me to another level and helped me get on the floor more."

Colvin has made improvements and "gotten a lot better," Painter added, citing specifically his defense on the ball, containing the dribble and ability to take players out of rhythm. He understands what's going on with different actions and, applied to the past couple weeks, proven adept at handling the quick turnarounds of postseason play.

"He needs more of an opportunity," Painter said. "It’s tough when you have a lot of guys with it, but he’s kept a positive attitude and continued to work. You see when he gets out there, he can make things happen."

Purdue will play fifth-seeded Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 next Friday in Detroit.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue basketball's Cam Heide, Myles Colvin gives March Madness spark