Nittany Lions Fall to Boilermakers

Story posted January 13, 2013 in CommRadio, Sports by Zach Hottinger

The Penn State Men’s Basketball team took their eighth loss of the season Sunday in West Lafayette to the Purdue Boilermakers 60-42. This marks the team’s fourth consecutive loss as the Lions fall to 8-8 overall and 0-4 in conference play.

Lack of offense has played a major role in Penn State’s demise in recent weeks and it did again today with the Nittany Lions failing to score more than 54 points in any of their past 4 games. Ronnie Johnson led Purdue with 13 points, while three of his other teammates, A.J. Hammons, D.J. Byrd and Rapheal Davis all had double-digit point totals. Freshman Forward Brandon Taylor was the lone bright spot for Penn State finishing as the only Nittany Lion over ten points with 11.

Purdue’s stout defense managed to hold Penn State’s shooting percentage to a lowly 26%, while the Boilermakers out-rebounded the Nittany Lions 42-33.

The Nittany Lions head home Wednesday to take on a tough Michigan State team at the Bryce Jordan Center at 7 PM. The Spartans are now 16-3 on the year fresh off victories against Iowa and Purdue, while the Nittany Lions are in search of their first Big 10 victory. If Penn State is to succeed in Big 10 action they are going to need to find their grove offensively with their Big Ten schedule only getting tougher from here. 

Zach Hottinger is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, e-mail zsh5015@psu.edu.