Career night from Mason Gillis leads Purdue basketball over Penn State
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WEST LAFAYETTE − Mason Gillis assumed his role as leader of Purdue’s basketball team.
He didn’t have to be a scorer, instead suffice being the hard-nosed rebounder and defender who’d take open shots as they came to him.
On Wednesday night, they came in bunches and Gillis was ready for the game of his life.
The redshirt junior drilled nine 3-pointers, the most by a Purdue player in Mackey Arena, to lead the No. 1 Boilermakers (22-1, 11-1) past Penn State 80-60.
3 stars
Mason Gillis, Purdue: Gillis’ previous career high was 14 points, a feat he accomplished twice, including last season against Penn State. He more than doubled that thanks to going 9 of 12 from 3-point range. Gillis finished with 29 points.
Zach Edey, Purdue: Penn State made it a point of emphasis to box up Edey inside. Purdue struggled out of the gate, going 0-for-6 from the field to start. Edey was able to get the ball rolling with six early points, tying the game at 11. He finished with a quiet 18 points to go with 13 rebounds.
Braden Smith, Purdue: The freshman point guard and last year’s Indiana Mr. Basketball continues to amaze. Smith scored nine points and contributed nine assists, while also pulling down five rebounds.
Key moment
Purdue went the final six minutes of the first half scoring just five points, two of which came on a steal and layup by Braden Smith.
Penn State went into halftime trailing just 35-29 after being down by 12 on three occasions, including after Smith’s steal and bucket. The Nittany Lions ended the first half on a 9-3 run.
The Boilermakers responded to start the second half getting three straight 3-pointers from Gillis and pushed its lead to 24 points by the second media timeout.
Key stat
In December, Gillis missed three straight games with a minor back injury suffered in the weight room. Prior to that, he’d started all eight of Purdue’s games.
Gillis returned on Dec. 17 against Davidson at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, now as a reserve with Caleb Furst assuming the starting spot. In the 12 games since his return, Gillis was a combined 9 of 35 from 3-point range.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
No. 1 Purdue 80, Penn St. 60
PENN ST. (14-8): Dorsey 1-2 0-0 2, Henn 4-8 0-0 11, Funk 1-9 0-0 2, Pickett 5-11 0-0 12, Lundy 7-12 1-1 18, Dread 1-3 0-0 3, Wynter 1-3 0-0 3, Mahaffey 3-3 0-0 7, Njie 0-0 0-0 0, Clary 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 2-3 2, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 3-4 60.
PURDUE (22-1): Furst 1-4 1-2 3, Edey 7-9 4-5 18, Loyer 2-8 0-0 5, Morton 2-5 0-0 6, Smith 4-9 0-0 9, Gillis 10-14 0-1 29, Jenkins 1-2 1-2 4, Kaufman-Renn 1-1 2-2 4, Newman 0-3 2-2 2, Waddell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-55 10-14 80.
Halftime—Purdue 35-29. 3-Point Goals_Penn St. 11-29 (Henn 3-6, Lundy 3-6, Pickett 2-4, Mahaffey 1-1, Wynter 1-1, Dread 1-3, Dorsey 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Funk 0-6), Purdue 14-31 (Gillis 9-12, Morton 2-4, Jenkins 1-2, Loyer 1-3, Smith 1-6, Furst 0-2, Newman 0-2). Rebounds_Penn St. 17 (Lundy 6), Purdue 38 (Edey 13). Assists_Penn St. 16 (Pickett 7), Purdue 19 (Smith 9). Total Fouls_Penn St. 14, Purdue 9.
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