STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Ryan Cline's job is to hit 3-pointers and the Purdue guard didn't disappoint when his team needed him to execute Tuesday night.
Cline hit back-to-back 3-pointers in overtime to lift No. 14 Purdue to a 74-70 win over Penn State in a game the Boilermakers nearly let slip away.
Instead, their red-hot run continued. They won their sixth straight game even though they've been more deserving of wins in the recent past.
"It rarely happens where a team outplays another one, plays harder and they lose the game especially on their home court," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "Thank the Lord Cline knocked those two shots down."
Vincent Edwards scored 14 points, Isaac Haas added 13 and Dakota Mathias chipped in 12 for the Boilermakers (23-5, 12-3 Big Ten). Cline's 11 came off the bench.
Tony Carr led all players with 21 points, Lamar Stevens added 18 and Mike Watkins finished with 11 for Penn State (14-14, 6-9).
The Nittany Lions, trying to win their fourth straight against a ranked opponent at home dating to last season, controlled much of the evening. They led for all but 7:35 of regulation but fell behind on a Haas dunk with 10:13 left.
"That was as hard as we've played all year," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. "Proud of my team. However, there's no more moral victories here. We've got to get some things done. We've got to close out games."
Carr led a 10-2 run to send the game to overtime with four straight baskets in the final 2:30 before Cline got hot.
The Boilermakers, who had dominated in large stretches during their five-game winning streak, took control after Haas' dunk gave them their first lead and looked like they would cruise with Swanigan feeding his teammates.
Swanigan found two of them wide open for deep shots that gave Purdue its biggest lead of the game. He swung the ball to Thompson and Mathias, who hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions with Mathias' putting Purdue up 62-54 with 3:23 to play.
But Carr had plenty of offense left. The freshman point guard tied the score at 64 with his fourth straight make, a short jumper over Thompson, with 17 seconds left.
"We had no answer for Carr at the end," Painter said.
But Cline had a response.
"Ryan saved us by making those two shots at the end," Painter said.
A misread of the shot clock by Shep Garner helped, too.
With 13 seconds left and Purdue up 72-70, Haas took a jumper and missed close to the rim with the shot clock nearing zero. It would have expired, but Garner, who Chambers said thought Haas hit the rim with his shot, fouled P.J. Thompson immediately afterward.
Thompson made both free throws to cap the scoring.
Shots like the ones Carr hit worked early and often for Penn State as the Nittany Lions eased their way into the paint before taking it over.
Penn State players shared the ball early and went ahead with strong midrange shooting. The Nittany Lions opened the game with an 8-0 run that featured midrange makes from four different players.
The offense shifted into the paint for Penn State where Watkins pulled down three straight offensive rebounds on the same possession midway through before drawing a foul and draining two free throws to put Penn State up 21-12.
Moments later, a short jumper from Lamar Stevens put the Nittany Lions up 25-15 for their largest lead of the evening.
But the Boilermakers chipped away in the final 4:18. They used a 14-8 run, capped by three 3-pointers, to cut Penn State's lead at halftime to 33-29.
NOTES:
-- Penn State had won four straight games against Top 25 teams visiting the Bryce Jordan Center dating to Feb. 6, 2016.
-- Purdue made just 9-of-31 shots from the field field (29 percent) in the first half and turned the ball over 10 times. Penn State dominated in the paint during the first 20 minutes and outscored Purdue 18-4.
-- The Nittany Lions finished with 46 points in the paint to Purdue's 12.
-- The Boilermakers avoided an injury early in the second half when P.J. Thompson got tangled up with Josh Reaves at midcourt.
-- Thompson went down and was slow to get up, favoring his right leg when he did. He stayed in the game.
