Zach Edey proved why he’s one of the best players in the country, scoring 30 points and picking up 13 rebounds as top-ranked Purdue came out strong in the second half and beat Penn State 76-63 at Philadelphia’s Palestra Sunday evening.
In the first half, Purdue (15-1, 4-1 Big Ten) jumped out to a 9-3 lead and the pace was slow without much scoring early. Purdue maintained a small lead throughout the first half as Penn State (11-5 2-3 Big Ten) struggled shooting. Purdue committed turnovers and took unnecessary fouls to keep Penn State in the game. Penn State took the lead, 17-16 when Andrew Funk’s three-point shot which was assisted by Jalen Pickett. As the first half progressed the pace got faster that favored Penn State, with Pickett making three consecutive shots, including a four-point play.
Penn State held its ground against Edey for the most part in the first half despite him scoring 14 points and eight rebounds. Edey did not shoot a free throw in the first half.
Penn State led 37-31 at halftime, with Pickett scoring 18 points including a layup to end the first half. Penn State shot 46.9 percent from the floor in the first half and shot 6 for 12 from the three-point line. Purdue has outrebounded Penn State 20-13 in the first half. Purdue committed six turnovers to Pen State’s two.
Purdue started the second half on a 12-0 run as Penn State missed its first eight shots of the second half, before a Kebba Njie dunk at the 15:58 mark of the second half. Purdue, however, continued with its hot shooting and extended its lead to eight at the Under-16 timeout. Edey continued his onslaught schooling the smaller freshman Njie as Purdue continued to increase their lead and play efficient basketball on the offensive side of the ball. Pickett did what he could, but did not get much help offensively from his teammates in the second half. Purdue cruised to an easy second half from that point in the game.
Pickett led Penn State with 26 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, followed by Seth Lundy with 14 points. Fletcher Loyer contributed 17 points, and Braden Smith scored 15 points and led Purdue with six assists.
Penn State will return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday night when they host Indiana, while Purdue will host Nebraska Friday night.
Twitter: @bwalkerdadon
