INDIANAPOLIS – The 11th-seeded Penn State men's basketball game mustered another second-half surge to pull within one possession in the waning minutes, but the Nittany Lions ultimately ran out of steam in a 69-61 defeat to third-seeded and nationally-ranked #9 Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Penn State (14-17) nearly put together a third-straight second-half rally in its special Big Ten Tournament run after trailing by as much as 12 with 8:15 to play, but the Nittany Lions missed their scoring chances late in the loss to the top-10 Boilermakers (26-6).
Another heroic effort from graduate student John Harrar kept the Nittany Lions in the game, as he finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, including six offensive boards, for his 12th double-double of the season. He grabbed 33 total rebounds in Penn State's tournament run, a new tournament record for the program.
Penn State's senior guards Jalen Pickett and Sam Sessoms, who both had spectacular Big Ten Tournaments, had 16 and nine each for the Nittany Lions. Pickett also dished out six assists.
Sophomore Dallion Johnson and senior Jaheam Cornwall both sparked Penn State's late 17-6 run, as Johnson scored five of his seven and Cornwall drilled a pair of threes in the spurt.
Purdue's Jaden Ivey led all scorers with 17 with Zach Edey adding 15 to help the Boilermakers advance to the conference semifinal round.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nittany Lions ran out to a great start to lead 12-2 right after the first media timeout. John Harrar got to work down low with a pair of layups and Myles Dread converted two of his first threes of the game while Penn State' defense held the Boilermakers to one of their first seven from the floor plus a pair of turnovers.
- Purdue worked the score back to just a five-point Penn State lead, 18-13, near the halfway point in the half, but Harrar had an answer with a big two-handed slam after great pass from Jaheam Cornwall. On the next possession, Harrar used a step-through move beneath the basket to create space for another easy layup to bring the advantage back to nine.
- The Boilermakers went on a big run in the last 7:30 of the first half where they made nine-straight field goals to take the lead. Sam Sessoms buried a three pointer on the other end for the Nittany Lions to relieve a little of the pressure, but Purdue took a 35-31 lead into halftime.
- Jalen Pickett and Dallion Johnson picked up early baskets for the Nittany Lions in the second half, but Purdue extended its lead to 44-35 at the under-16 timeout.
- Pickett added a step-back three pointer and Sessoms rolled a high arching layup high off the glass to bring Penn State's deficit back down to six at 48-42. A Purdue fastbreak layup just before the media timeout gave the Boilermakers an eight-point edge with 10:35 to play.
- The Boilermakers lead grew to as high as 12 with 8:15 to play, but the Nittany Lions would not go away. A three each by Johnson and Cornwall and a dunk by Harrar chipped away at the lead before another bucket by Johnson and a second Cornwall three shrunk Purdue's lead to 60-57 with 4:43 remaining.
- After a Jaden Ivey layup for Purdue, Pickett navigated below the basket and found Harrar on a wraparound pass for the layup. Penn State snagged the rebound on the next Purdue missed shot and Sessoms glanced another teardrop layup off the glass with 2:39 remaining to cap a 17-6 run and put Penn State behind just one, 62-61.
- The momentum for the Nittany Lions stalled from there as PSU's final six shots went off target and the Boilermakers made their free throws on the other end to close the game 69-61.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State played in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal round for the first time since 2018.
- In addition to his program tournament record in rebounds, Harrar also extended his career tournament rebounding record to 72 total boards in nine Big Ten Tournament games played. Harrar's 18th career double-double total ranks eighth on Penn State's all-time list.
- With his first basket in the opening half on a driving layup, Sessoms scored the 1,700th point of his career and finished the night with 1,707. His 70 career Big Ten Tournament points in five games ties him with Tim Frazier for ninth on the Nittany Lions career BTT scoring list.
- Pickett completed the tournament averaging 18.0 points per game with 54 total points, a mark that ranks ninth in program tournament scoring records.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head coach Micah Shrewsberry, John Harrar and Jalen Pickett