The Penn State men's basketball team is having a blast.

The Nittany Lions (10-5, 2-2 Big Ten) stifled Purdue last night with defensive switches, offensive fluidity and superior intensity, winning 74-54.

In the driver's seat for much of the game, Penn State gradually expanded its lead in the second half, securing the program's first double-digit win total since the 2000-2001 season.

"It's uncharted waters for us," Penn State head coach Ed DeChellis said of the cushion in the second half. "We haven't really been there before where we're up, and I can talk in timeouts about taking it from 10-15, and then 15-20."

Penn State kept Purdue (7-9, 1-4) out of sync offensively by switching defensive systems from time to time. When the Boilermakers got used to seeing a 2-3 zone, DeChellis switched to a 1-3-1, in which the wings would extend far to the outside, providing extra pressure for a struggling offense.

Occasionally, the Lions would even move to a full court trap, pressuring Purdue into hasty decisions. The Boilermakers committed 19 turnovers on the evening.

"They weren't ready for it," Penn State forward Geary Claxton said.

"They looked confused, like they didn't know what to run."

The Purdue coaching staff had, indeed, prepared the Boilermakers for the pressure, but it was difficult to tell from watching the game.

"We thought we could change defenses and keep them off balance, and hopefully that would lead to some turnovers and some easy baskets for us," DeChellis said.

Penn State began to break the game open at the 4:17 mark of the first half. With the score tied at 22, guard Mike Walker recovered a loose ball on the offensive end and quickly darted a pass to forward Jamelle Cornley in the paint, who then converted with a layup.

Then came a Purdue shot clock violation, followed by a seven point run by the Lions, who took a 31-22 lead.

Claxton turned the ball over with eight ticks remaining, only to catch up with Purdue's Bryant Dillon and swat the ball away. In under three seconds, Walker retrieved the ball and heaved it downcourt for Cornley, who finished with an uncontested dunk the instant before the buzzer sounded.

DeChellis said he could tell his players were having fun. There were few moments last night in which the Lions looked to be having a better time.

Good passing and superior athletic ability led to several open looks for Cornley in the paint. The freshman had four layups and a jam, and shot 7-9 from the field in his 18-point effort.

"He's a matchup problem, he gives people fits," Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. "He's quick and he's agile and he plays hard. Those are the kind of guys you need."

Claxton also had little trouble establishing his presence around the basket. He collected three layups and three dunks, including one alley-oop from Travis Parker in the final minutes of the game.

Claxton led all players with 20 points and 10 rebounds, giving the sophomore his fourth double-double of the season.

"The game pretty much was Cornley and Claxton outplaying our guys," Painter said.

Coming off the bench, Walker also outplayed the Bolermakers. The sophomore guard recorded 10 points, five assists and two steals.

DeChellis left his first team and Walker in the game until 1:19 remained.

"Him leaving us in there was to make a statement, a statement that we're for real," Cornley said.

The third-year coach is beginning to see what looks to be a confident team buying into his system, having fun and -- most importantly -- winning games.

"[When we went 2-0 in the Big Ten two years ago] I felt like we were treading water," DeChellis said. "Here I feel like we're actually swimming. We're a team."