There are two ways the Nittany Lions could have responded to nearly beating No. 2 Michigan on Tuesday. Penn State could have let the loss deflate them and come out flat against Purdue, or they could have used it as fuel to boost their confidence, knowing they can play with the best of the Big Ten.
For a portion of the first half, it looked like the latter. The Lions kept pace with the Boilers shot for shot, keeping Purdue within striking distance throughout the half. At the 12-minute mark, it looked like the Boilermakers
would open up the game, as they were up 17-12 and had the ball. The Lions made a stop, hit a three, then got fouled on the next possession to tie the game at 17.
The Lions and Boilers kept trading buckets, a tie game at the U8 time out. Back-to-back shots actually had Penn State up five, 29-24, right after the timeout, but Purdue quickly erased the deficit to take back the lead at 31-29. All of the sudden, it was 35-29, and all the momentum had swung to the Boilers.
The Lions were not going to go down without a fight, however. Two threes cut the deficit to two, a foul on Purdue allowed Penn State to keep it within three after the Boilers made their own three-point shot, and, as the seconds ticked, the Nittany Lions went down just one point.
Purdue started to assert itself in the second half. They started on a 5-0 run to go up 50-44. The Nittany Lions started missing the ones they hit in the first half, and, three minutes in, the Boilers had built their largest lead of the game at eight. Purdue quickly turned that 8-point lead to 11, and, just like the game against Michigan, where they went down 13 before coming back, it looked like that was curtains for the Lions again.
It would take nearly the whole game, but Purdue, finally, opened up the game for good after the U8 media timeout. A 7-point game quickly turned into a 14-point mountain. Penn State’s last push simply wasn’t enough to overcome that large a deficit with three minutes to go.
Now that the gauntlet is over, we get to find out what these Lions will do against the rest of the Big Ten.
Player of the Game
Freddie Dilione V – 25 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
Dilione continues to pick up the slack with Kayden Mingo out. It was a group effort, but Dilione certainly kept things together for Penn State, preventing the game from becoming a laugher.
Random Observations
Clean game – We went nearly the entire first half without either team getting in the bonus. Purdue reached it with less than a minute left.
Holding down the fort – Penn State has played arguably its two best games of the season without its best player, Kayden Mingo. Tibor Mirtič was also out for this one, which makes the game even more impressive.
Five Q1s – Penn State’s first five conference games have all be of the quadrant 1 variety. The Lions still have a plethora of Q1 opportunities left. That’s the Big Ten for you!
Looking Ahead
Penn State returns home to welcome UCLA. Maybe the basketball team will do what the football team couldn’t. Game is on Wednesday, January 14, at 8:30 PM on FS1.
