Jan. 31, 2010
WEST LAFEYETTE, IND. JAN. 31, 2010 - The Nittany Lion basketball team (8-13; 0-9 Big Ten) saw the 10th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers (18-3; 6-3 Big Ten) explode out of the locker room at halftime and behind pre-season All-Big Ten forward Robbie Hummel turn a two-point halftime lead into a 17-point margin Penn State would never recover from.
Hummel scored 12 points, including three treys, as Purdue used a 19-4 run and hit 4-of-4 from the arc to start the second half and open up a 47-30 lead with 15:10 to play. Hummel hit back-to-back threes to start the half, including getting fouled and completing a four-point play on one, as Purdue ran away from a feisty Nittany Lion team to claim a 66-46 victory Sunday in West Lafayette.
Hummel had 23 points to lead the Boilermakers who posted their fourth-straight win over the Lions in West Lafayette. Penn State fell for the ninth-straight time and remained winless in Big Ten action as Purdue handed the Lions their largest defeat of the season.
Big Ten leading scorer Talor Battle led Penn State with 13 points on the day and moved past Freddie Barnes (1,342) into 10th all-time on the Nittany Lion career scoring charts with 1,347 points. Freshman Bill Edwards had the best game of his young career with his first career double-double as he logged 10 points and a Penn State season-high 13 rebounds. David Jackson posted his third-straight double-digit scoring game and career-best 10th of the season as he netted 11.
Penn State shot just 31 percent for the game and a season-low 3-of-17 from three. Purdue hit 46 percent from the floor and 8-of-16 from three.
Despite shooting just 32 percent for the first half, and under 20 for most of it, Penn State used solid defense and good rebounding to stay close to the Boilermakers and go to the locker room down just two, 28-26, at the half. Worried about the Boilers pressure coming in, Penn State committed just four first half turnovers despite big minutes from freshmen Bill Edwards and Tim Frazier.
Penn State capitalized on a nearly four-minute Purdue drought to tie the game with 8:54 to play in the half on one of David Jacksons two threes in the half. Jackson led all Nittany Lion scorers with nine points in the half. Meanwhile, freshman Bill Edwards contributed strong play logging eight first half boards, four points and a nice assist
Robbie Hummel ran off eight straight points for the Boilermakers, who hit 42 percent in the half but just 1-of-6 from three, as they built their largest lead of the half, 25-17, with 2:30 to play Hummel finished with eight in the half and JaJuan Johnson posted nine for the Boilers who got just eight minutes out of leading scorer E'Twaun Moore (17.3 ppg) who got in early foul trouble.
Jackson ended the Boiler run with his second three and Penn State closed the half on a 9-3 run to get to within two. Edwards drove and fed Battle who was slicing baseline for a lay-up. Battle then hit a driving lay-up around Hummel to get the score to 26-24. Johnson dropped a bucket at the other end. Penn State brought the game clock down to the final seconds when Jeff Brooks drove the lane and drew a foul on Hummel with three seconds to play. He hit both free throws and Purdue's last second attempt came up wide as the teams went to the locker room.
Penn State will continue a two-game road swing vs. ranked opponents when it visits No. 20 Ohio State on Wednesday. Tip time is set for 6:30 p.m. in Columbus live on the Big Ten Network. The Nittany Lions have lost six-straight on the Buckeyes' home floor last winning in Columbus in 2001.