STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 17 points, Freddie Dilione V added 14 and Penn State pulled away from No. 8 Purdue for an 81-70 victory in the Big Ten opener for both teams on Thursday night.
Puff Johnson had 13 and four steals, and Nick Kern Jr. had 12 points and three steals off the bench for the Nittany Lions (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten).
Penn State led by as many as 27 to earn its first win over an AP Top 10 team since 2019, prompting fans to storm the court at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions also snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Boilermakers and continued their best start in a decade with their defense and transition offense.
Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer each had 15 for the Boilermakers (7-2, 0-1).
Takeaways
Purdue: The Boilermakers were off all night. They committed 14 of their 24 turnovers in the first half. Penn State’s opportunistic offense potted 32 points off their mistakes.
Penn State: After losing to Clemson on Nov. 26, the Nittany Lions rebounded against the Boilermakers to add a quality win to their record.
Key moment
After trailing 9-7, Penn State pulled away with an 11-0 run and never trailed again. The Boilermakers cut it to 25-18, but the Nittany Lions outscored them 15-6 over the final 6:05 to take a 16-point lead into halftime.
Key stat
Rhoades said before the season he wants to average over 90 points per game. So far, Penn State’s averaged 91 per game and has scored more than 80 in every game but its loss to Clemson.
Up next
Purdue hosts Maryland on Sunday, and Penn State visits Rutgers on Tuesday.
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