Quick Report: No. 24 Purdue 74, Penn State 57

Marley Paul (@MarleyPaul22)
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Penn State dropped its second consecutive conference game in blowout fashion on Wednesday as the Nittany Lions traveled to Purdue and dropped a 74-57 contest to the No. 24 Boilermakers at the Mackey Arena. Brandon Taylor paced the Nittany Lions with 21 points but didn’t received much help as only one other Nittany Lion (Donovan Jack, 12 points) scored in double digits against the stout Purdue defense.

At first...
Taylor opened the scoring with a 3-pointer to put his team up, but after Purdue answered with a 3 of its own, the Boilermakers continued to jump out to a 13-7 lead through six minutes of play, connecting on 5-of-9 shots from the floor and five early points from Vince Edwards. Moments later the lead stretched to 16-9, part of the home team’s 11-2 run.

Turning point...
Things didn’t turn much in Penn State’s favor after falling behind early, but for much of the first half the Nittany Lions kept the game relatively close, going into the half down 38-25, tied for the fewest points scored for the Lions. In the second half, Purdue continued to pick things up. Taylor picked up his fourth foul with 15 minutes remaining and the Lions down 48-30, which forced the forward to stay in the game.

An 8-0 run, with four straight points from Taylor on the back end cut the deficit to 61-45 with nine minutes left to play, but that was as close as Penn State would get before dropping its fifth road lost of the season.

Shining star...
Taylor has anchored Penn State all season, and he did so again today against a tough matchup in Purdue, which boasts quality depth in the front court with A.J. Hammons and Caleb Swanigan (26 points and 16 rebounds combined). Efficiency has been erratic with Taylor, but he certainly had one of his better days, going 10 of 15 from the floor and only committed just one turnover.

Noteworthy number...
42:24
That was the rebounding advantage in favor of the Boilermakers, including 14 offensive rebounds). Davis Zemgulis, making his first start in place of an ill Josh Reaves, led Penn State with five rebounds. The 6-foot-6 forward is accustomed to hanging around the perimeter as a 3-point shooter, so coach Pat Chambers may need more from 7-footer Jordan Dickerson (two rebounds) and 6-foot-11 Julian Moore (four rebounds).

Up next:
Penn State (10-8, 1-4 B1G) at Northwestern Saturday, Jan. 16
Purdue (15-3, 3-2 B1G) at Rutgers Monday, 7 p.m. Jan. 18