Feb. 2, 2014
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Feb. 2, 2014) - The Penn State trio of D.J. Newbill (Philadelphia, Pa.), Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas) and Brandon Taylor (Tabernacle, N.J.) led the men's basketball team to a 79-68 victory over Purdue Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center. Newbill led all scorers with 19 points, Frazier followed closely with 18 points and Taylor added 15 points to give the Nittany Lions three-consecutive Big Ten regular-season wins for the first time since 2009.
Taylor also led the Lions in rebounding, pulling down eight boards while Newbill registered seven. Frazier recorded another complete game, dishing out five assists and grabbing five rebounds. The graduate guard is just two helpers away from taking over the PSU career assists record, currently held by Freddie Barnes (600; 1989-92).
Penn State's (12-10, 3-6 Big Ten) 79-point performance marks the highest scoring effort for the Nittany Lions in Big Ten action this season; their previous best was a 76-point effort in the loss vs. Indiana Jan. 11.
Purdue (13-9, 3-6 Big Ten) has now dropped four-consecutive contests after opening the conference slate with a 3-2 mark.
The Lions shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) from the field, 25 percent (5-of-20) from 3-point range and 76.5 percent (26-of-34) from the free throw line. Penn State outrebounded Purdue 40-36 and forced 14 Boilermaker turnovers, converting the miscues to 18 points.
Purdue hit 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the floor, 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from beyond the arc and 75.0 percent (15-of-20) from the charity stripe.
A.J. Hammons set the pace for the Boilermakers, notching a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 12 boards. Ronnie Johnson and Terone Johnson also reached double figures in scoring, tallying 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Lions and Boilermakers battled back and forth for the opening nine minutes of the contest until a Jordan Dickerson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) layup from Frazier gave Penn State a 16-14 lead and sparked a 10-0 run. Graham Woodward (Edina, Minn.) and Newbill drained back-to-back treys and Newbill followed with a jumper to extend the Nittany Lions' lead to 24-16.
Purdue's Terone Johnson dropped in a layup to break the scoring streak but it was not enough to deter the Lions, who responded with a powerful dunk from Travis and a Frazier jumper, pushing the PSU lead to 28-18 with just over seven minutes remaining in the contest.
The Boilermakers closed the gap to five before the break but were unable to regain the lead, putting the count at 34-29 at the intermission.
Penn State maintained at least a two-possession lead in the 10 minutes following the break until an 8-0 Boilermaker run cut the difference to two halfway through the second half. Hammons dropped in a layup and knocked down a free throw for an and one after drawing a foul from Dickerson and Errick Peck followed with a layup and a three-pointer to put the count at 51-49.
The Blue and White quickly remedied the situation with an 8-0 streak of their own, adding points on a pair of Frazier free throws, a Newbill layup, a reverse layup from John Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa.) and a put-back from Donovon Jack (Reading, Pa.) to extend their lead to 59-51.
Purdue made several attempts to take over but could not gain enough momentum as a series of PSU free throws brought the final count to 79-68.
The Blue and White return to the court next Thursday, traveling to East Lansing, Mich. to take on No. 7 Michigan State. Tip is set for 9 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2.