February 20, 1999
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - This time Penn State got it right down the stretch.
Dan Earl had 18 points and reserve Greg Grays scored 14, including four 3-pointers, as Penn State snapped its six-game losing streak by defeating No. 17 Purdue 78-70 Saturday.
Coach Jerry Dunn's team had lost 10 of its previous 11 games, including seven by five points or less points with one of the losses coming in double overtime and another in overtime.
"Our mental toughness was great. There have been too many games like this when we didn't come out on the winning end," Dunn said.
Penn State was torrid from long range early and the Boilermakers never recovered.
"We did a good job of pushing the ball in transition and we were able to get a few open threes that way," Earl said. "Grays hit some big threes in the beginning."
Grays did his damage in the first half, scoring 11 points when the Nittany Lions (11-13, 3-12 Big Ten) took the lead for good.
"At the start of the game they shot very well," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "That is a very dangerous team and we knew they were capable of playing well. They can beat anybody in the country when they play like that."
Calvin Booth contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds to the victory, while Joe Crispin had 13.
Purdue (18-9, 6-7) saw Penn State hit 10-of-16 shots from behind the 3-point line, including one by Crispin in a decisive 11-3 second-half run.
Jaraan Cornell, who led the Boilermakers with 24 points, hit one of his five 3-pointers to bring Purdue to 48-47. Penn State responded with its run, starting with a tip-in by Booth. The Lions scored nine straight points, capped by two Booth free throws that made the score 57-47 with 10:35 remaining.
Two consecutive three-point plays by Brian Cardinal, who scored 19, cut Purdue's deficit to 66-62 with 4:07 remaining, but Purdue was unable to draw closer.
The Nittany Lions, shooting 34 percent from 3-point range for the season, built a seven-point lead three times in the opening half when they hit 8-of-11 attempts from behind the arc. Overall, Penn State shot 68 percent (15-of-22) from the field in the opening period to lead 40-33 at the break. For the game, they hit 56 percent after coming into the game seventh in the conference at 45 percent and 10th in 3-point shooting.
Grays led the way in the first half when he hit all three of his 3-point attempts.
Cornell said he wasn't surprised at Purdue's slow start.
"I sensed it before the game, stretching, I thought there was something missing. I don't know what it was," he said. "I said, I don't think we're going to come out and play focused and that's just how it was."
By HANK LOWENKRON
AP Sports Writer