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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 17 • 1 BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com P urdue won at Penn State, but Matt Painter is not go- ing to let his Boilermakers gloss over all the things that very nearly got them beat on the home floor of one of the worst teams in the conference. To recap: Purdue trailed by three in the final seconds of regulation before A.J. Hammons made an outstanding effort to tip a missed free throw in the direction of Kendall Stephens. Stephens corralled it, ran to the corner and buried his sixth three-pointer, tying the game and forcing the over- time in which Purdue rolled over the deflated Nittany Li- ons en route to an 84-77 victory. Disaster averted. But just barely. It didn't have to be that way. But Purdue's turnover woes from earlier in the season have resurfaced the past two games, committing a total of 32, 16 against Maryland, then the same total against the Nittany Lions. "We were very fortunate to be able to pull out a vic- tory," Painter said. "… We just felt like especially in the first half we had too many breakdowns and then we turned the basketball over way, way too much. We were very, very fortunate to win the game with 16 turnovers. "It's something I keep harping on with our team. We have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball. But with all that being said, we have to give our guys credit for being resilient and hanging in there." Yes, but Painter's always preached about not allowing final scores to mask the flaws that easily could have flipped those scores, so in advance of the Boilermakers' Wednesday trip to Illinois, the coach will have many talk - ing — or yelling — points. Stephens and Hammons, thought com- ing into the season to be Purdue's two most important players, combined for 43 points at Penn State, one of the few times this season both have clicked at the same time. Yet Purdue still needed an improbable finish to escape Penn State with a win, or more importantly, Steve Manuel Coach Matt Painter knows his team will have to play better to win Wednesday at Illinois. 11-8-9 Halftime deficits Purdue has over- come in its wins over Minnesota, Michigan and Penn State in league play. 78.6 Boilermakers' free throw percentage in overtime at PSU, after shooting just 46.7 in regulation. 37 D.J. Newbill's scoring total, tied for the most by a conference op- ponent in a losing effort. Iowa's Fred Brown, in 1971, was the other. 1 Season in the last 29 in which Purdue hasn't finished at least .500 in Big Ten play, missing out only in 1992-93. Sharon Versyp's team (2-4) might be hard- pressed to finish above .500 this season. THE NUMBERS VOLUME 25, EX 17 • JAN. 19, 2015 Inside | Purdue beats PSU; notes 6, 10-12 Toyra feature 7–8 | Women reeling 15–20 Boilermakers get three commits 21-22 Big Win, But Improvement Still Needed