National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Purdue 64, Penn St. 59
When: 2:25 PM ET, Friday, March 13, 2015
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Officials: # Terry Oglesby, # Robert Riley, # Terry Wymer
Attendance: 17290

Purdue 64, Penn State 59:
A.J. Hammons finished with a season-high 23 points, nine rebounds and four blocks as the Boilermakers edged the upset-minded Nittany Lions in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament in Chicago.

Rapheal Davis battled through early foul trouble to contribute 13 points while freshman Dakota Mathias tallied seven points, six rebounds and five assists for fourth-seeded Purdue (21-11), which stopped a three-game skid at this event and will face top-seeded Wisconsin in Saturday’s semifinals. Jon Octeus chipped in nine points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Boilermakers.

D.J. Newbill scored 19 points on 6-of-18 from the field for No. 13 seed Penn State (18-16), which lost for the first time in four games despite committing only three turnovers – half of its previous season low. Ross Travis had 10 points and nine rebounds as the Nittany Lions wore down late in their first quarterfinal appearance since 2011 after defeating Nebraska and Iowa in the first two days of the tournament.

After a back-and-forth opening six minutes, Newbill knocked down the second of back-to-back 3-pointers and Brandon Taylor scored five straight points as Penn State held Purdue to three field goals from Hammons over a 9 1/2-minute stretch to build an 11-point lead. Hammons scored the rest of his 14 first-half points over the remaining 3:35 and the Boilermakers closed within 37-32 at intermission on a late triple by Kendall Stephens.

Purdue scored 10 of the first 14 points of the second half to pull ahead by one and answered the Nittany Lions’ subsequent 9-2 burst with the next 13 points until Newbill drained a long 3-pointer over Hammons to make it 57-53 with 40 seconds remaining, ending an 8 1/2-minute scoreless drought. Newbill added four free throws and late bucket over the remainder of the contest, but the Boilermakers countered with six foul shots to seal it.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Hammons, who amassed his previous season high of 21 points in Purdue’s 81-77 overtime victory at Penn State on Jan. 17, averaged 22 points against the Nittany Lions and 11.3 versus every other opponent this season. … Newbill (704 career points) edged past Talor Battle (687; 2011) and into second place behind Jesse Arnelle (731; 1955) for the most points in a season in school history. … The Boilermakers recorded assists on 14 of their 18 field goals.
Top Game Performances
 
Penn St.   Purdue
D.J. Newbill 19 Scoring A.J. Hammons 23
D.J. Newbill 3 Assists Dakota Mathias 5
Ross Travis 9 Rebounds Jon Octeus 11
D.J. Newbill 4 Free Throws Made A.J. Hammons 9
Geno Thorpe 2 Steals N/A
Jordan Dickerson 1 Blocks A.J. Hammons 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Penn St. 59 33.9 7-15 14-18 6 25 1 6 3
Purdue 64 39.1 6-20 22-30 14 37 7 0 9