Penn State (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) got a signature win under Mike Rhoades and did it in dominant fashion, pounding No. 8 Purdue 81-70 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score.
Five Penn State players scored in double figures, led by Ace Baldwin Jr’s 17. Freddie Dilione V (14), Puff Johnson (13), Nick Kern Jr (12) and Zack Hicks (11) combined for 50.
For Purdue, Trey Kaufman-Renn (15) and Fletcher Loyer (15) amassed 30 points.
On Purdue’s first two possessions, Kaufman-Renn got post-up opportunities against Niederhauser, resulting in the Swiss’ first foul on the second attempt.
Kaufman-Renn went 1-for-2, and then Loyer hit a 3 to give the Boilermakers an early 4-0 lead.
By the 17:49 mark, Kaufman-Renn had forced a combined three fouls on both Kachi Nzeh and Niederhauser, giving him another made free throw to make it 5-0 Purdue.
Penn State wouldn’t score until the 16:32 make after Puff Johnson got a putback layup off a Baldwin missed 3.
The Nittany Lions’ defense was stalwart, holding the Boilermakers to only one made field goal through the first five minutes of the game.
After Purdue jumped out to a 7-4 lead, two Hicks’ 3-pointers book ended a 14-4 run for Penn State, giving the Nittany Lions a double-digit advantage (21-11).
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Purdue was able to make it a single-digit game off a Kaufman-Renn floater, but PSU responded with six quick points to regain a double-digit advantage.
Defense fueled Penn State in the first half, as it forced 14 Purdue turnovers. Smith (second in the nation in assists) was held to two assists and two turnovers in the first half.
The Nittany Lions gained their largest lead of the night after Dilione (nine points in the first) made a 3, giving them a 40-24 lead heading into halftime.
To start the second, Niederhauser exited early with his third foul, and Dilione hit his second 3 of the night.
Four minutes into the second half, Johnson hit a 3 to extend the Penn State lead to 18. The game was stopped for a media timeout during which Purdue head coach Matt Painter was assessed a technical foul. Baldwin made both subsequent free throws to give PSU a 20-point lead.
Even with Baldwin exiting the game at the 11:03 mark after receiving a technical foul (his fourth personal), Purdue never got closer than 11.
Big Ten play continues for Penn State as it travels to New Jersey to take on Rutgers on Tuesday.
