Nittany Lions No Match for Well-Balanced Purdue Squad in 73-52 Loss

Story posted February 26, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Logan Bourandas

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Following Penn State’s win over Nebraska, which had ended a four-game losing streak, it seemed as though the Nittany Lions had some momentum coming into this Friday evening bout with Purdue. It turned out Penn State would not put together a two-game winning streak, and the game looked finished very early on with the Boilermakers going on to win 73-52.

The Nittany Lions were up 6-4 with 17:41 to go in the first half; this would be the team’s last lead of the game.

From there, the Boilermakers took over the entire game and never let their foot off the gas. There was a point in the game where the Nittany Lions went on an 8-0 run midway through the first half. But this run would be short-lived as the Boilermakers snapped out of an almost-five-minute scoring drought.

The combination of Jaden Ivey and Sasha Stefanovic took over the game early for the Boilermakers. Ivey didn’t start the last time these two teams met, but he proved to be a difference maker Friday with 14 points and five rebounds. Stefanovic led both teams in scoring with 16 points.

Purdue star Trevion Williams was silent most of the game, but he still finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

For Penn State, Myreon Jones followed up his career-high 29 points against Nebraska with just 11 in this one, still leading the team. John Harrar went off the last time these two teams played but was held scoreless in the first half. He finished with nine points but amassed only three rebounds for a strangely off night on the glass.

The game would get to a point where the Nittany Lions all but emptied their bench at the end of the game with 15 total Nittany Lions seeing some action. This includes senior guard Taylor Nussbaum, who played in his first game this season, on the floor for the final minute.

The 21-point loss is Penn State’s worst all season, and it came at home, where the Nittany Lions were favored to win the game by one point. Penn State just didn’t look like its usual self, something interim head coach Jim Ferry went more in-depth on.

“We struggled with everything, I thought we looked fatigued,” Ferry said. “We could never get over the hump.”

The Nittany Lions will have two more games to finish off the regular season before the Big Ten tournament. They will have one final home game coming up on Wednesday, as they welcome Minnesota on senior night.

 

Logan Bourandas is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.