NEW YORK (AP) — Carsen Edwards scored 27 points and No. 8 Purdue pulled away from Penn State in the second half of a 78-70 victory Saturday that put the Boilermakers in the Big Ten Tournament championship game for the second time in three seasons.
Third-seeded Purdue (28-5) faces No. 5 Michigan, which will try to repeat as tournament champs on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Purdue frustrated conference scoring leader Tony Carr, holding him to 4-of-18 shooting and 12 points. Shep Garner led the Nittany Lions (21-12) with 33 points.
The Boilermakers will be making their third appearance in the Big Ten championship since the tournament started in 1998. Their one championship came in 2009.
Against Penn State, Purdue used a 12-2 run the middle of the second half to build a 15-point lead. Edwards led the way, spinning through the lane for a driving layup and making a 3 from up top that made the score 59-44 with 9:15 left.
Edwards made back-to-back 3s to make it 74-56 with 3:41 left and Purdue was on its way to play for a title. Edwards was 6 for 9 from 3 and Isaac Haas added 17 points and seven rebounds.
With Carr struggling, Penn State could not keep up. The sophomore faced an array of defenders, including Vincent Edwards, Nojel Eastern P.J. Thompson. He picked up a third foul in the second half, a push off call that caused Penn State coach Pat Chambers to draw a technical.
SHEP SHOOTER
Garner went 4 for 5 from 3-point range, including a four-point play, to carry Penn State in the first half. The Nittany Lions led much of the way, but Edwards made a 3 for Purdue with 2 seconds left in the half to send the Boilermakers to the break ahead 33-31.