Johnson’s double-double helps No. 7 Purdue beat Penn St. 64-60 to clinch share of Big 10 title

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No. 7 Purdue beats Penn St. for share of Big 10

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Purdue is back on top of the Big Ten.

JaJuan Johnson had 21 points and 10 rebounds and the No. 7 Boilermakers clinched a share of its first conference title in 14 years with a 64-60 win Saturday over Penn State.

Keaton Grant added 17 points for Purdue (26-4, 14-4), which never trailed but held off a late Penn State charge to win its second straight without top forward Robbie Hummel. He’s out for the year with a right knee injury.

Purdue led by as much as 13 in the second half before Penn State (11-19, 3-15) closed to 61-60 with 18 seconds left after three foul shots by Chris Babb. He finished with 17 points.

The Boilermakers held on after E’Twaun Moore hit two free throws and Babb missed a potential tying 3 with 7 seconds left. Penn State played the last six-plus minutes without Talor Battle, and coach Ed DeChellis later said his star guard had stomach cramps.

Purdue heads to Indianapolis for the Big Ten tournament with the second seed. Conference co-leader Ohio State owns the tiebreaker and the top seed.

Getting this far, though, might be accomplishment enough for Purdue given they played without Hummel, the team’s leading scorer and second-leading rebounder.

No wonder a large black- and yellow-clad Purdue contingent made the trip to Happy Valley. Many came prepared, holding up “Big Ten Champs” signs in the stands after the final buzzer.

Without Hummel, coach Matt Painter’s club regrouped to win its last two games, against the Big Ten’s two worst teams in Indiana and Penn State.

The 6-foot-10 Johnson was a tough matchup for Penn State’s big men with his mid-range jumper and his ability to get to the foul line. He hit 11 of 14 free-throw attempts.

Battle finished with 17 points, while Jeff Brooks added 12 and seven rebounds for Penn State, which lost another tight game 67-65 on Thursday to No. 11 Michigan State.

With Penn State on spring break, a larger than normal visiting crowd filled the lower level of the Jordan Center, occupying seats normally taken up by students.