Turnovers burn Boilers in loss

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Patrick Chambers credits his Penn State basketball team with staying the course — getting three straight Big Ten wins after a six-game losing streak.

A combined 52 points and 20 rebounds from D.J. Newbill, Tim Frazier and Brandon Taylor enabled the Nittany Lions to defeat Purdue 79-68 on Sunday. It marked the first time since the 2008-09 season Penn State has reeled off three in a row in Big Ten play.

The Nittany Lions (12-10, 3-6 Big Ten) got 19 points from Newbill, 18 from Frazier and 15 from Taylor.

Taylor scored nine points down the stretch, enough to keep Purdue at arm’s length.

The Boilermakers (13-9, 3-6) defeated Penn State 65-64 on Jan. 18 but have lost four straight since then.

Despite committing some late turnovers that allowed the Boilermakers to remain in the hunt, Penn State went 11 for 12 from the freethrow line in the final 1:07. The Boilermakers missed shots underneath the basket and were forced to foul.

Purdue was paced by 18 points from A.J. Hammons and 12 from Ronnie Johnson.

“It’s frustrating,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We’re in a good league and it’s hard to get wins no matter what your record is. We just have to do a better job.

“We need better leadership and more experience. You can be young but you can’t be immature. You have to grow up quick or you’re going to get steamrolled.”

Penn State scored more than 70 points for just the second time in nine conference games.

Purdue went cold late and had solid runs interrupted by momentumchanging turnovers.

“We had good shots for the most part,” said Painter, whose squad shot 42.4 percent but committed 14 turnovers.

“We had way too many turnovers in first half (9) and not one offensive rebound, yet we were in the game.”

Penn State used a 21-4 first half run to build a 10-point lead but the Boilermakers closed it to five and missed a buzzer-beating chance at a layup.