Gillis Rains Down Threes on Penn State/Mackey Arena Record for Men

February 2, 2023 Broadcast, HS Basketball 0

Gillis Rains Down Threes on Penn State/Mackey Arena Record

by: Shawn Martin

Mason Gillis came into tonight’s B1G Conference game with Penn State averaging 5.4 points per game. He has shot a rather pedestrian 32% from three-point range through his 19 games this season.
Photo by: Anthony Harper/Excel H Sports/Indiana Sports Network
Gillis entered the game at raucous, sold-out Mackey Arena with the Boilers clinging to slim lead with around 14 minutes left in the opening half.
Over the next six plus minutes the 6 foot 6-inch versatile forward from New Castle, Indiana hit four three’s – each one igniting a crescendo of crowd noise more than the previous one. When the fourth one tickled the twine with 8:23 left in the opening stanza, the 55-year-old facility had rarely been as loud.
Photo courtesy of: Purdue University Athletics 
He wasn’t finished.
Gillis started the second half for freshman guard Fletcher Loyer (Homestead) and scored eleven of Purdue’s first 13 points of the second half – going 3-3 from beyond the arc and adding a long two-point basket. He had 23 points by the first media timeout of the second half.
Gillis wasn’t done just yet then either!
He hit two more threes!
He finished the night – a career night – with 29 points on 10 of 14 shooting from the field. Included in that stat was a Mackey Arena record NINE made Three-Point baskets (in 12 attempts).
“Honestly, it doesn’t feel like I did anything different than I do any game,” Gillis said afterward. “I hit a couple of shots early and then they just kept falling. Sometimes I think I hesitate to take some of those shots that I took today, but proved to myself that I can do it in games.”
It took top ranked Purdue nearly three minutes to take the zero off their side of the scoreboard at the beginning of the game – that coming on an Ethan Morton three from right in front of the Nittany Lion bench. That cut the Penn State lead to one point – 4 to 3.
The teams essentially traded baskets back and forth until the first media timeout. Purdue’s 7 foot-four National Player of the Year front-runner Zach Edey scored six points on three straight powerful moves deep in the lane and he was the bulk of Purdue’s scoring during that stretch.
 Edey recorded another “ho-hum” (for him) Double-Double performance with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
His night though would turn into a Best Supporting Role in an always difficult major conference basketball game.
The strength of this Boilermaker team appears to be centered not just on their centerpiece in Edey, but in the unselfish depth that they possess at every turn. Any of the other eight mainline players can be THE guy on any given night.
Sunday it was senior guard David Jenkins Jr who was the catalyst against Michigan State with 11.  He scored just four points in 13 minutes against Penn State. The game before at Michigan, Loyer had the hot hand in support of Edey with 17.
Tonight, it was Gillis’ turn to shine.
It’s been that way all season – one or two “others” have had big games for Purdue, and then the next game It’s someone else.
Six of the nine Boilermakers that regularly log significant playing time for Purdue grew up in Indiana and are homegrown talent.
Freshman point guard Braden Smith (Westfield) actually played more minutes than anyone tonight  – just shy of 35. He scored 9 points and had five rebounds.
Oh…he had NINE assists too!
And NO TURNOVERS!
Midway through the second half the Boilers recorded their largest lead of the game – 26 points with 10:54 left to play. Purdue led for over 34 minutes of the game after starting slowly.
For the second game in a row, Purdue limited an opponent to just two offensive rebounds in the game. Coach Painter alluded to Penn State not really going for offensive rebounds in favor of getting their defense set. Sunday though was against Michigan State, known for their ability to get extra shots after misses.
Could this be a sign of the Boilermaker Hurricane further strengthening?
The always steady and productive Penn State forward Seth Lundy – a 6-6 senior – led coach Micah Shrewsberry’s squad with 18 points and six rebounds. Two others also hit double figure scoring for the Nittany Lions (14-8/5-6) – Jalen Pickett had a dozen while Michael Henn added 11.
Unanimous #1 ranked Purdue improves to 22-1 on the season and are in command of the B1G regular season now with their ninth win in a row. Their 11-1 conference mark gives them a 3-1/2 game lead over second place Illinois and Rutgers (the only team to beat Purdue this season). There are eight regular season conference games left for Purdue.
The Boilers, who shot 45% from three-point range, will head to Bloomington to face the #21 Indiana Hoosiers (15-7/6-5) Saturday afternoon. Penn State heads West to face Nebraska (10-13/3-9) on Sunday.
Editors Note: Courtney (Moses) Delk also recorded nine three’s in 2012 in a NCAA tournament game at Mackey Arena.

Following per: Purdue University Athletics

  • Purdue improved to 22-1 overall and 11-1 in the Big Ten with an 80-60 win over Penn State in front of the 53rd straight sellout at Mackey Arena. The win gives Purdue a three-and-a-half game lead on Rutgers and Illinois with eight games to play.
  • Purdue is just the third Big Ten team since 2000 to start a season with a 22-1 record (24-0 by Ohio State in 2011; 29-0 by Illinois in 2005).
  • Purdue is 11-1 in the Big Ten for just the fifth time in school history (2023, 2018, 2008, 1988, 1969).
  • Purdue is now 45-13 all-time against Penn State, including 24-3 in Mackey Arena. Over the last 33 games, Purdue is 29-4 against the Nittany Lions.
  • Over the last 60 games, Purdue is 51-9 (.850), the second-best, 60-game stretch in Purdue history (52-8 from Nov. 1986, to March 1988).
  • Purdue’s nine-game winning streak is the fifth-longest streak in the country. The Boilermakers have had two separate 9-game winning streaks in three previous seasons (2023, 2010, 1996, 1988).
  • Holding Penn State to 60 points, Purdue has held all 23 opponents to 70 or fewer points.
  • Purdue’s 14, 3-pointers were a season high.
  • Purdue averaged 1.43 points / possession for the game, including 1.67 for the second half.
  • Purdue outrebounded Penn State 38-19, including 17-7 in the second half. Both teams had just seven turnovers.
  • Purdue’s bench outscored Penn State’s bench by a 39-15 margin.
  • Mason Gillis scored a career-high 29 points, making nine 3-pointers. The nine 3-pointers were the most for a Purdue player in Mackey Arena history and tied for the second most in a game in Purdue history behind Carsen Edwards (10 vs. Virginia; 3-30-19). His previous career high was 14 points.
  • Gillis’ 29 points off the bench were the most by a major-conference player this season.
  • Zach Edey recorded 18 points and 13 rebounds in just 28 minutes for his 18th double-double of the season, tied for the second most in a season in school history (28 by Caleb Swanigan in 2017).
  • Braden Smith dominated the floor game with nine points, nine assists and five rebounds with no turnovers. In two games against Penn State, Smith had 24 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists against just one turnover.

Following per: Penn State University Athletics

Men’s Basketball Falls at #1 Purdue

Lundy, Pickett lead Nittany Lions

 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Penn State men’s basketball team fell victim to a hot-shooting Boilermaker squad in an 80-60 road loss at #1 Purdue Wednesday night inside Mackey Arena.

Seth Lundy led the Nittany Lions with 18 points and six rebounds. Jalen Pickett contributed 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds, while Michael Henn added 11 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Michael Henn made a trio of 3-pointers in the first six minutes to provide early offense as the score was knotted at 11-11 at the first media timeout. Penn State went cold for the next few minutes as the Boilermakers strung together a 9-0 streak that gave them an early 23-13 edge midway through the first half.
  • Purdue pulled ahead by as much as 12 at 32-20 at the 4:45 mark of the first half, but Penn State answered back with a strong close to the term. The Nittany Lions made five of their final seven shots from the field and limited Purdue to just one field goal in the final 4:44 as Penn State trimmed the Boilermaker lead down to six at 35-29 heading into the locker room.
  • A Jalen Pickett layup opened the second half to pull the Nittany Lions within four, but Purdue’s Mason Gillis promptly drilled three-straight triples to put Penn State back in a double-digit hole at 44-31 and force a Nittany Lion timeout just over two minutes into the second half. Purdue stayed hot while Penn State struggled to convert its looks and the Boilers worked their lead to 61-35 with 10:54 to play.
  • Penn State fought back with a 13-3 streak over a 2:13 stretch thanks to seven points from Seth Lundy and six from Jalen Pickett to trim the Purdue lead to 64-48 with 8:41 left on the clock.
  • The Nittany Lions wouldn’t get any closer the rest of the way, however, as #1 Purdue claimed the 80-60 win.

GAME NOTES

  • The Nittany Lions fall to 14-8 overall and 5-6 in the Big Ten. #1 Purdue improves to 22-1 on the season and 11-1 in the Big Ten.
  • The Boilermakers came into the game shooting just 33.2 percent from 3-point range on the season, but went off for 14 3-pointers on a 45.2% clip from beyond the arc. Mason Gillis set a new Mackey Arena record with nine 3-pointers.
  • Penn State finished the game with 11 3-pointers, its 13th game this season with double-digit triples.
  • Seth Lundy tallied his 19th double-digit scoring game of the season, while Jalen Pickett recorded his 20th. Michael Henn tied his season high with 11 points.

UP NEXT

  • Penn State remains on the road to take on Nebraska Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.

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