(WEST LAFAYETTE, IN.) – Mason Gillis sets Purdue player record for threes in Mackey Arena with nine to help lift Purdue Boilermakers (22-1 | 11-1) to 80-60 victory over Penn State Nittany Lions (14-8 | 5-6).
The Boilers started this game off relatively slow only knocking down one of their first seven shots, but Penn State couldn’t take advantage as their offense was sluggish to start the game as well. Matt Painter’s crew didn’t take their first lead until the 14:44 mark in the first half. Three minutes later is when history would start. When the two teams got to the under-twelve-minute media timeout, Painter inserted Mason Gillis into the game tied at 11. He would drill his first three-point attempt, and the Boilermakers would not surrender the lead from that point on. In fact, Gillis played the rest of the first half because he knocked down a career high four triples in the first twenty minutes of action. All eyes for the Nittany Lions defense were set on the man in the middle in Zach Edey, which opened some space for Gillis to knock down shots. Before you knew it, Purdue was up a dozen after the insertion of Gillis. Edey still managed to score eight points and grab nine rebounds in the first half. Through 20-minutes of action, Purdue would lead 35-29. Gillis led all scorers with 12 points. Penn State would close the half on a 9-2 run.
Matt Painter would keep Gillis on the floor to start the second half in place of Caleb Furst. He was literally the Purdue offense for the first 3:33 as he scored the first 11 points for the Boilers, including three triples. As a team, Purdue would go on a 26-4 run the first 9:03. The biggest deficit for the Nittany Lions was 26 when the score was 61-35. On the call on Big Ten Network was former Boilermaker Robbie Hummel, who was one of three Purdue players tied with eight threes in a game at Mackey Arena (Carsen Edwards and Ryne Smith). Gillis would become the fourth member with eight just over five minutes into the second half. Nearly ten minutes of game action later, Gillis would set himself apart from Hummel, Edwards, and Smith by becoming the record holder for threes by a Purdue player in Mackey Arena. Purdue would cruise to a 80-60 victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mason Gillis (29p, 9 three’s) and Zach Edey (18p, 13r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.
NOTES: Gillis was one three away from tying Carsen Edwards record of ten triples in a game. The nine threes for Gillis tied a Mackey Arena record. Gillis’ 29 points is the most points recorded this season by a player off the bench out of the major conference teams.
NEXT UP: Purdue will hit the road and travel down I-65 to take on their archrival in the #21 ranked Indiana Hoosiers (15-7 | 6-5). Tip-off from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at 4pm on ESPN.\
