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March 13, 2015
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CHICAGO (AP) - D.J. Newbill scored 19 points for Penn State, but the Nittany Lions fell to Purdue 64-59 in the Big Ten quarterfinals on Friday.
Ross Travis had 10 points and nine rebounds. But the 13th-seeded Nittany Lions, who advanced with victories over Nebraska and Iowa, seemed to run out of energy in the final five minutes of their third game in three days.
A.J. Hammons scored 23 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and rugged Purdue wore down Penn State in the second half.
Rapheal Davis made three 3-pointers as Purdue advanced to the tournament semifinals for the first time since it won the title in 2009. Hammons also had nine rebounds, leading a strong effort on the glass that helped the Boilermakers play keep away during a key stretch in the second half.
Newbill was 6 for 18 from the field. The senior guard scored 44 points on 44 percent shooting in the wins over the Cornhuskers and Hawkeyes.
''That team as a whole is a great defensive team,'' Newbill said.
The Nittany Lions had a 50-44 lead with 9:10 left, but then went scoreless for the next 8 1/2 minutes. Davis, who was plagued by foul trouble in the first half, helped lead the defensive effort on Newbill and the Boilermakers surged in front with a 13-0 run.
Jon Octeus made two foul shots with 53.2 seconds to go, giving Purdue a 57-50 lead. Newbill stopped the drought with a 3 with 40 seconds remaining, but it was too late for the Nittany Lions, who were outrebounded 41-32.
The scoring drought at the end of the game was quite the contrast to Penn State's fast start. Travis had one of the flashiest plays of the tournament, driving down the lane for a big dunk over Hammons. Donovon Jack's 3-pointer as the shot clock expired made it 37-26 with 1:48 to go, leading to a timeout for Purdue. <![endif]-->
The Boilermakers played much of the first half without Davis after he was whistled for his second foul with 9:06 left. Penn State used a 24-9 first-half run to go up by as many as 11 points in the opening half before Kendall Stephens made a 3-pointer with a hand in his face in the final seconds, trimming the deficit to 37-32 at the break.
Davis started the second half and made a 3-pointer for Purdue's first basket, sparking a 10-2 run. Vince Edwards' layup with 15:20 left gave the Boilermakers a 42-41 lead, setting the stage for the frantic finish.
''I don't think fatigue played a role in how we played in the final minutes,'' Newbill said.
But Penn State coach Patrick Chambers acknowledged burning a quick timeout in the second half to help get his team some extra rest.
''Three days, three games in the Big Ten is very difficult,'' he said, ''and the way these guys competed today in the second half, they gave it everything they had, and I think this is a stepping stone for our program."