UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Trailing by as much as 13 with just over 12 minutes to play in the second half, the Penn State men's basketball team chipped away at the double-digit deficit and hit eight-straight field goals to take a one-point lead with 3:42 remaining before the visiting third-ranked Purdue Boilermakers closed the game on a 10-2 run for a 74-67 victory Saturday afternoon inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Four Nittany Lions scored in double figures, led by senior guard Jalen Pickett's 21 points, his second 20-point performance of the season. Pickett also added a season-best 10 assists for his first double-double in a Penn State uniform and eighth in his career after totaling seven in three seasons with Siena.
Senior Greg Lee recorded a season-best 11 points for his first double-figure game as a Nittany Lion while junior Seth Lundy and graduate student John Harrar each added 10. Harrar led the Nittany Lions with eight rebounds.
Senior Jalanni White registered a season-best nine points on 4-4 from the field including a big score from beyond the arc to get Penn State within two in its comeback bid.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Purdue jumped out to an early 7-2 lead before Penn State started to find its groove and tied the game at 10-10 at the first media timeout of the game.
- The Nittany Lions took the momentum from White hitting all three of his first attempts from the floor leading up to the under-12 media timeout and then a 9-0 run coming out of it to take a 21-14 lead and force the Boilermakers to call timeout with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half.
- Purdue answered with its own 13-3 run out of the timeout over a nearly five-minute span to re-take the lead.
- Thanks to five points by Harrar and a turnaround jumper by Pickett, the Nittany Lions were able to go back on top by one before struggling with a scoring drought in the final two and a half minutes as Purdue would go to the locker room with a 35-30 advantage.
- The visiting Boilermakers came out hot to start the second half, converting three of their first four shots from the field to take a double-digit lead and force Shrewsberry to call a timeout.
- Penn State battled to get back within four on an 11-2 run after Lundy struck from beyond the arc and Lee earned the three-point play.
- The Nittany Lions then hit seven of their next seven from the field to make it a two-point game at the under-4 media timeout, 64-62.
- Lee made it eight-straight right out of the break with a score from beyond the arc to put Penn State in front by one at 65-64 with 3:42 to play.
- Five points from Trevion Williams then helped the #3 Boilermakers close the game on a 10-2 run as Purdue escaped Happy Valley with a 74-67 victory.
GAME NOTES
- Senior Jalen Pickett has scored in double figures in six-straight games and 10 of the last 11. He recorded his second 20-point game as a Nittany Lion and 18th in his career.
- Pickett added a season-best 10 assists to become the first Nittany Lion to have at least 10 assists since Tony Carr had 14 against Utah in the NIT Championship in 2018 (3/29/18).
- Pickett registered his first double-double of the season and eighth in his career.
- Senior transfers Greg Lee and Jalanni White each recorded their best games as Nittany Lions so far with 11 and nine points, respectively.
- The Penn State defense held Purdue's potent offense over 10 points below their season average of 85.9 points per game. The Nittany Lions defense has held its opponents at least 10 points under their season average in seven of the last 10 games.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
Graduate student John Harrar and senior Jalen Pickett
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions remain home Tuesday to host Rutgers in Penn State's annual THON game. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center on the Big Ten Network.
The 2021-22 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.