(PURDUE RELEASE)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Sasha Stefanovic led a balanced attack with 15 points, Trevion Willilams had a double-double and Purdue held off rusty Penn State 80-72 on Sunday.
It was Purdue's first home game since Christmas Day and the first game for Penn State since Dec. 30, after four conference games were postponed due to coronavirus concerns across the league.
Eric Hunter Jr. scored 14 points for the Boilermakers (10-5, 5-3 Big Ten Conference), Williams had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Brandon Newman also had 13 points and Mason Gilles added 12.
Myreon Jones scored a career-high 23 points for the Nittany Lions (3-5, 0-4), who have lost four straight while starting a run of four games in seven days. John Harrar added a career-high 14 points with 14 rebounds and Izaiah Brockington scored 12.
Gillis hit a 3-pointer just before halftime to give Purdue a 33-32 lead and opened the second half with another 3 to start a 10-0 run and the cold-shooting Nittany Lions could never quite recover.
Penn State shot 28% (13 of 47) in the second half but more than half (7 of 26) were from 3-point range. It helped that of the Nittany Lions' 49 rebounds, 23 were on the offensive end for 29 second-chance points.
Purdue, after starting the second half going 10-of-15 to hold a 64-48 lead with 8:43 to play were 2 of 8 the rest of the way. But as Penn State inched closer, finally getting within four on a Jones 3-pointer with 17 seconds to go, Purdue was scoring its last 12 points from the foul line on 16 attempts. Jones had four 3s in the last 2:37.
The Boilermakers play at Ohio State on Tuesday and the Nittany Lions are at Illinois on Tuesday and home against Rutgers on Thursday and Northwestern on Saturday.
(Postgame Notes)
Purdue won its third straight game with an 80-72 victory over Penn State on Sunday in Mackey Arena. The victory improved Purdue to 10-5 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten Conference.
The win improved Purdue to 22-3 at Mackey Arena against Penn State and improved Matt Painter to 24-6 against the Lions.
The three-game win streak is tied for the longest of the season.
Purdue has won 10 of the last 11 meetings vs. Penn State and 14 of the last 16 contests.
The win was Matt Painter's 172nd win in Big Ten play, tying Wisconsin's Bo Ryan for ninth on the league's all-time wins list in league games.
After scoring 81 points against Indiana on Thursday, Purdue has scored at least 80 points in consecutive Big Ten games for the first time since Jan. 11 to 15, 2019.
Purdue has won 19 straight games when scoring at least 80 points and is 41-2 when reaching 80 points since the start of the 2017-18 season.
Purdue is 51-8 at Mackey Arena against Big Ten foes since the start of the 2014-15 season, a full four games better than the next best record (Michigan State – 47-12).
Purdue shot just 6-of-32 (.188) from 3-point range, but went 19-of-30 (.633) from inside the arc. The 26 misses are the most 3-point misses in a win in school history.
Penn State's 39 3-point attempts were the most for an opponent in school history, surpassing the 38 by Villanova in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Purdue's freshmen class scored 38 points.
Purdue only had seven players score, but five players scored between 12 and 15 points.
Purdue allowed 23 offensive rebounds for 27 second-chance points. The previous high this season allowed were 10 (Oakland and Ohio State) and 12 (Maryland).
Trevion Williams notched his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. He has scored in double-figures in 10 straight games.
Sasha Stefanovic scored 15 points with six rebounds. He has made a 3-pointer in 16 straight contests.
Brandon Newman scored 13 points with five rebounds and three blocked shots.
Mason Gillis tallied a career-high tying 12 points with five rebounds, two steals and an assist.
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