WEST LAFAYETTTE, Ind. – Despite leading by as many as five and yielding a one-point deficit through the first half of play, the Penn State men’s basketball team dropped a 93-85 decision to the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday afternoon inside Mackey Arena.
PSU was paced by a trio of double-digit scorers in the matchup against the Boilermakers, highlighted by a career-best 25-point outing from redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V. The Fayetteville, North Carolina, native registered 10 makes from the field and trio of 3-pointers, adding a team-best five assists to his final line. Freshman guard Melih Tunca logged 14 points on an efficient 6-of-9 night from the field, while redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice poured in 11 points to round out the trio of Penn Staters in double figures. The Nittany Lions participated in their fourth matchup against a top-20 opponent in their first five Big Ten Conference opportunities on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Purdue came away with the jump ball, but neither team managed a score over the game’s first 90 seconds. PSU broke things open at the 18:33 mark with a right-wing triple from Rice, but the Boilermakers answered back with a 7-0 scoring run. Jumpers from Dilione V and Reed helped PSU keep things within one, trailing 9-8 at the contest’s first media break.
- A putback from Sasa Ciani at the 13:24 mark tied things up at 10 apiece, but a personal 7-2 scoring run from Purdue’s Braden Smith drove the home side to a 17-12 advantage. Tunca broke things up with a 3-pointer from the right corner just before the under-12, and a pair of free throws from Reed on the other side of the break made it a 17-all affair. Both teams answered each other back and forth to the tune of a 24-24 deadlock with 7:27 to play, but a layup from Jurić down low saw the Blue & White lurch ahead.
- Dilione V nailed a straightaway triple moments later to punctuate a 7-0 PSU scoring run that saw the Blue & White notch a five-point advantage. Purdue battled back to re-take the lead with an 13-3 scoring run that gave the Boilermakers a 37-32 edge at the 2:41 mark of the opening stanza. Rice hit a 3-pointer to cut Purdue’s lead back to two, and the squads ex-changed blows as the half continued to wind down. A late layup from Rice saw the Blue & White keep things on a razor’s edge through 20 minutes of play, trailing 45-44 at the halftime break.
- Purdue got the second half rolling with a quick 5-0 start, but Stewart drew a foul on a 3-point attempt and connected on all three opportunities at the stripe to keep it a one-possession game. The Boilermakers forced PSU into a timeout at the 17:09 mark after adding five unanswered, ballooning their advantage to 55-47.
- The Boilermaker lead grew past double figures with another triple at the 16:10 mark, but Tunca and Ciani battled for back-to-back buckets down low. The teams battled to the tune of a 74-65 Purdue advantage with just over eight minutes to go, but Dilione V remained strong from the field with a pair of layups over the next minute. A 7-0 scoring run by the Boilermakers saw Purdue extend its advantage to 88-74 heading into the game’s waning moments. Despite a strong personal push from Dilione V down the stretch, Purdue managed to hold on to its lead and closed the game out with a 93-85 final score.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State falls to 9-7 overall on the 2025-26 season and 0-5 against Big Ten Conference competition, while fifth-ranked Purdue improves to 15-1 overall and 5-0 in the B1G.
- Penn State played its second-straight game without standout freshman guard Kayden Mingo (14.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2.5 spg) due to injury. The Nittany Lions were also without Tibor Mirtic.
- The Nittany Lions outpaced Purdue off the bench on Saturday afternoon, registering a decisive 29-4 advantage in scoring off the pine.
- Redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V led the Nittany Lions in scoring for the fifth time this season and recorded his 13th performance in double figures, dropping 25 points with five assists, two rebounds and one steal. The Fayetteville, North Carolina, native surpassed his career high in scoring on Saturday by two points, last scoring 23 points as a career-best on December 21 against Pittsburgh. Dilione V paced PSU in assists for the fourth time this season and registered five assists or more in a game for the second time in 2025-26.
- Freshman guard Melih Tunca published his 11th double-digit scoring performance and first against a Big Ten Conference opponent since pouring in 13 at Indiana on December 9. Tunca finished with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and 2-for-4 efficiency from deep. He added three rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes played.
- Redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice chipped in with his sixth double-digit scoring effort this season and third in the last four Big Ten Conference matchups. The Gallatin, Tennessee, native logged 11 points on 4-for-6 efficiency from the field and 3-for-4 marks from deep. Rice added four rebounds to match his B1G season-best in the statistic.
- Freshman forward Ivan Jurić fell one point shy of his first collegiate double-double, dropping nine points with a career-high 10 rebounds. Jurić’s previous career high in rebounding was nine, set most recently against Sacred Heart on November 29. Jurić led PSU in rebounding for the fourth time this year and became the third different Penn Stater to crack double digits in the statistic.
- Penn State utilized the starting lineup Jurić, Dilione V, Stewart, Reed and Rice for the first time this season.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions return home to host UCLA Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will air nationally on FS1.