Purdue Captures Big Ten Tournament Title With 67-65 Win Over Penn State
CHICAGO — After leading by as many as 17 points in the second half, Purdue survived a late surge by Penn State to win its second Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament championship in program history.
The Nittany Lions had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but the top-seeded Boilermakers executed their defense to perfection and forced a turnover in the final seconds to hang on for a 67-65 victory Sunday at the United Center.
Junior center Zach Edey led all scorers with 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds without turning the ball over. Purdue shot just 38.7 percent from the field during the contest but finished with 21 second-chance points.
The team avenged last season’s loss in the conference tournament title game, where it was defeated 75-66 by the Iowa Hawkeyes. Purdue’s first championship victory came in 2009.
Penn State opened the scoring by making its first two baskets and taking an early advantage. But the Nittany Lions shot just 1-of-11 from the field over the next nine minutes. The Boilermakers took advantage with a 15-2 run over that stretch.
Edey was automatic in the early stages of the matchup, finishing the first half with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting while coming down with seven rebounds. But even without its star player on the floor, Purdue held on to its lead thanks to an 8-0 run.
Senior guard David Jenkins Jr. kickstarted the second scoring surge with a 3-pointer, one of three he hit before halftime. The team took its largest lead of the opening period, 25-14, with 6:23 to go in the half.
Jenkins had all 11 of his points and was 3-of-5 from range heading into the second half, and Purdue went into the break with a 35-27 lead. Penn State was just 2-of-8 from deep while leading scorers Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy combined to shoot 4 for 11.
In the second half, the veteran backcourt combination of Seth Lundy and Camren Wynter brought the Nittany Lions to within four points of the Boilermakers with 16:28 left in the game. They combined for Penn State’s first 14 points after halftime.
Lundy led the team with 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from the 3-point line, before fouling out with less than three minutes to play.
Edey halted the early run on a three-point play and was responsible for 15 of Purdue’s 32 points in the second half. Over the next 10 minutes of play, the Boilermakers outscored the Nittany Lions 20-7, which led to a 60-43 lead at the 6:18 mark.
Junior forward Mason Gillis drilled a 3-pointer before Edey capped the scoring stretch with his patented hook in the paint. Gillis finished with 10 points in the contest.
The 17-point advantage was the largest of the game, but Penn State came roaring back in the final minutes and outscored Purdue 22-7 in the final six minutes. Fifth-year guard Myles Dread buried a 3-pointer with 16 seconds on the clock.
It was Dread’s only basket of the second half but his third basket from beyond the arc. Wynter followed up with a layup after a turnover by the Boilermakers, which made it a one-point game with six seconds left.
On the other end of the floor, freshman guard Fletcher Loyer went 1 for 2 at the free-throw line. On Penn State’s final offensive possession, Wynter was called for a travel and was unable to attempt a shot to win the game.
Purdue will enter the NCAA Tournament with a 29-5 overall record after winning five consecutive games.
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.