Penn State guard Melih Tunca, left, and Purdue guard C.J. Cox (0) reach for a loose ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in West Lafayette, Ind. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Braden Smith had 26 points and 14 assists and Oscar Cluff had 23 points to lead No. 5 Purdue to a 93-85 win against Penn State on Saturday.

Fletcher Loyer scored 17 and C.J. Cox 16 for the Boilermakers (15-1, 5-0 Big Ten), who won their seventh consecutive game.

Freddie Dilione V scored 25, Melih Tunca scored 14 and Ivan Juric had nine points and 10 rebounds for Penn State (9-7, 0-5).

Leading by one at halftime, the Boilermakers opened the second half with a 15-5 advantage to go up 60-49. Penn State narrowed the deficit to seven points several times but could get no closer.

The Boilermakers shot 58% while the Nittany Lions made 57%. Penn State had a 28-27 rebounding advantage. Purdue committed just three turnovers while Penn State had 10. The Boilermakers biggest issue was making just 6 of 14 from the foul line. Penn State was 9 of 10 from the free-throw line.

The Nittany Lions were without leading scorer Kayden Mingo, who suffered an injury in practice on Monday and missed his second consecutive game. The freshman was averaging 14.9 points per game. Freshman reserve Tibor Mirtic also was sidelined after being injured in a 74-72 loss to No. 2 Michigan on Tuesday.

Smith scored 17 in the first half. The Nittany Lions had a 14-2 edge with points off the bench in the first half to keep things close. They finished with a 29-4 edge in points off the bench.

Penn State hosts UCLA on Wednesday.

PENN STATE (9-7): Jurić 3-5 2-2 9, Reed 2-3 2-2 8, Dilione 10-20 2-2 25, Rice 4-6 0-0 11, Stewart 0-4 3-3 3, Tunca 6-9 0-0 14, Blackwood 4-5 0-0 9, Ciani 3-4 0-1 6. Totals 32-56 9-10 85.

PURDUE (15-1): Kaufman-Renn 3-6 1-2 7, Cluff 10-11 3-6 23, Cox 6-11 1-2 16, Loyer 6-10 1-2 17, Smith 11-18 0-0 26, Harris 1-4 0-0 2, Benter 0-2 0-0 0, Jacobsen 1-2 0-2 2, Mayer 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 38-66 6-14 93.

Halftime–Purdue 45-44. 3-Point Goals–Penn State 12-27 (Rice 3-4, Dilione 3-8, Reed 2-3, Tunca 2-4, Blackwood 1-2, Jurić 1-3, Ciani 0-1, Stewart 0-2), Purdue 11-29 (Loyer 4-8, Smith 4-8, Cox 3-8, Mayer 0-1, Benter 0-2, Harris 0-2). Rebounds–Penn State 27 (Jurić 10), Purdue 26 (Kaufman-Renn 9). Assists–Penn State 16 (Dilione 5), Purdue 25 (Smith 14). Total Fouls–Penn State 17, Purdue 10. A–14,876 (14,846).

Pitt loses to Orange

PITTSBURGH — Donnie Freeman and JJ Starling combined for 41 points as Syracuse downed Pittsburgh 83-72 on Saturday.

Freeman posted 22 points for the Orange (11-5, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) on 8-of-13 shooting to go with five rebounds in his third game back from a six-week absence with a foot injury. He’s scored a combined 57 points since returning. Starling added 19 points, going 7 of 11 and and 3 of 4 from behind the arc.

William Kyle III had 11 points and four steals, but was held without a block for the first time this season. He entered the game tied for the nation’s lead at 3.1 blocks per game.

Brandin Cummings, off the bench, led the Panthers (7-9, 0-3) with 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting. It was his second game of the season with 20-plus points. Roman Siulepa added 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Cameron Corhen also had eight rebounds to go with nine points.

The Orange held a 48-37 lead at halftime after going on a 19-2 run over the first seven minutes. Starling’s 3-pointer 1:25 into the game gave them a lead they never relinquished.

The Orange shot 56%.

Pittsburgh will go on the road to face Georgia Tech on Wednesday.

SYRACUSE (11-5): Freeman 8-13 3-3 22, Kyle 5-7 1-1 11, George 1-6 3-4 5, Kingz 2-6 2-4 7, Starling 7-11 2-2 19, Souare 1-1 2-2 4, White 2-3 0-0 4, Betsey 3-4 0-0 9, Anthony 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 29-52 15-18 83.

PITTSBURGH (7-9): Corhen 4-10 1-1 9, Siulepa 5-11 3-3 13, Minor 2-8 0-0 5, Witherspoon 2-7 2-2 8, Dunning 4-9 0-0 8, Cummings 11-17 5-5 29, Indrusaitis 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 11-11 72.

Halftime–Syracuse 48-37. 3-Point Goals–Syracuse 10-22 (Betsey 3-4, Starling 3-4, Freeman 3-6, Kingz 1-5, George 0-3), Pittsburgh 5-26 (Witherspoon 2-4, Cummings 2-6, Minor 1-6, Corhen 0-1, Indrusaitis 0-1, Dunning 0-4, Siulepa 0-4). Rebounds–Syracuse 26 (Freeman 5), Pittsburgh 29 (Corhen, Siulepa 8). Assists–Syracuse 14 (George 7), Pittsburgh 12 (Minor, Witherspoon, Cummings 3). Total Fouls–Syracuse 14, Pittsburgh 15. A–6,358 (12,508).

Flash downed

NEW YORK — Jamal Fuller scored 23 points, Greg Gordon added 22 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, and LIU beat Saint Francis 67-63 on Saturday.

Skylar Wicks led the Red Flash (4-13, 2-2) in scoring, finishing with 21 points and two steals. Ralph Martino Jr. added 15 points and three steals for Saint Francis. Victor Payne had 10 points.

ST. FRANCIS (4-13): Liberis 0-2 0-1 0, Harrison 3-11 2-2 8, Moncrief 2-5 1-2 5, Payne 4-4 0-0 10, Wicks 7-15 3-7 21, Martino 6-7 0-0 15, Tweedy 1-4 0-0 2, B.Russell 0-1 2-2 2, Papadatos 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 8-14 63.

LIU (10-7): Lasu 0-2 0-0 0, Davis 2-9 0-1 5, Goings 2-11 0-2 4, Gordon 11-21 0-5 22, Fuller 6-8 10-11 23, Johnson 3-6 5-6 11, Porter-Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Sheppard 0-0 0-0 0, Meran 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-61 15-25 67.

Halftime–St. Francis 38-31. 3-Point Goals–St. Francis 9-18 (Wicks 4-7, Martino 3-4, Payne 2-2, Papadatos 0-2, Harrison 0-3), LIU 2-12 (Davis 1-3, Fuller 1-3, Gordon 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Porter-Brown 0-1, Goings 0-3). Rebounds–St. Francis 22 (Liberis, Wicks 4), LIU 46 (Gordon 12). Assists–St. Francis 10 (B.Russell 3), LIU 11 (Davis 5). Total Fouls–St. Francis 20, LIU 19. A–224 (2,500).

PSU defeated

The Penn State Altoona men’s basketball team suffered its fourth conference loss Saturday, when the Lions fell, 89-73, to AMCC opponent Alfred State in the Adler Arena.

“We’ve got a lot of things to work on,” said Penn State Altoona coach David McGreal.

Kaden Claar (Portage) led the Lions (6-7, 0-4 AMCC) with 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Braelen Cage scored 14 points, and Michael Baskerville scored 11 points. Mason Kargo (Portage) had the game-high in assists with six.