CHICAGO — The Penn State men’s basketball team fell just short of winning its first Big Ten tournament title when it fell to No. 1-seeded Purdue on Sunday.
The Nittany Lions had a last-second rally and got within just one point of the Boilermakers with seven seconds remaining. It wasn’t enough, as they lost 67-65 to the Boilermakers, marking the third loss against Purdue this season.
Penn State scored the first four points of the game, but Purdue would add the next nine. The Boilermakers would go on a 15-2 run before the Nittany Lions would score on consecutive possessions.
Camren Wynter hit a long-range shot that was ruled a 2, and Myles Dread hit back-to-back 3-pointers — the first of the game after starting 0 for 4 from long range. Meanwhile, Seth Lundy and Jalen Pickett struggled, finishing the half a combined 4 of 11.
The Nittany Lions would whittle an 11-point lead back down to five with 1:33 left in the half. Purdue quickly brought it back up to double digits again, but Pickett hit a layup to go into halftime at a 35-27 deficit.
Penn State came out of the locker room energized and closed Purdue’s lead to just four points within the first 2:30 of the game. It didn’t last long, as the Boilermakers got up by 11 in the next 4:15.
The Nittany Lions started to look a bit defeated when Mason Gillis sank a 3-pointer, followed by an Edey hook shot to give the Boilermakers a 17-point lead with 6:18 to go. Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry immediately called a timeout hoping to end the Boilermakers’ momentum.
Lundy and Pickett came out of the timeout on an 8-0 run to bring it back within single-digits. Purdue would go back up by 11, but some free throws, a Pickett steal and a Lundy 3-pointer would make it 62-56 with 3:26 remaining.
Just 39 seconds later, Lundy fouled out. But Penn State didn’t let the momentum go, and Evan Mahaffey stole the ball, allowing Wynter to score and make it 66-65 as the clock started to wind down. It just wasn’t enough.
Pickett struggled, connecting on just 4 of 13 of his shots for 11 points. The Nittany Lions leaned on Lundy and Wynter to fill the gap. The pair scored 19 and 14, respectively.
Penn State didn't have an answer to Big Ten Player of the Year Zach Edey, who led all players with 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting.
When Edey wasn’t scoring, David Jenkins Jr. and Gillis were there to clean up, adding 11 and 10, respectively.
Purdue outshot Penn State 62-51, getting multiple opportunities within single possessions to extend the lead. The Boilermakers grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and scored 21 second-chance points.
Key stat: In a game the Nittany Lions shooting needed to be on fire, they struggled. Penn State shot 30.4% from 3-point range throughout the game with only Dread, Lundy and Wynter scoring beyond the arc.
Up next: Penn State will find out when and where it will play when the 68-team field for the 2023 NCAA tournament when it is announced Sunday at 6 p.m. If the Nittany Lions receive an at-large bid, it would be the program’s first appearance in the Big Dance since 2011.
