Carrell: Purdue surges past Ohio State
By KEITH CARRELL
ISL Correspondent
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue used a late surge to overtake Ohio State 75-64 late Thursday night.
Purdue bucked the norm in the Matt Painter-Thad Matta saga by closing out a close, back-and-forth, game against Ohio State to come away with the victory. It certainly wasn’t an easy win and Ohio State couldn’t have asked for a better first half offensively. The Buckeyes seemingly knocked down a three on every possession, but the Boilermakers kept the score within striking distance by forcing the ball inside.
Listen to this line and figure out how Ohio State only held a three-point lead going into halftime: Ohio State was 52% from the field, 67% from three, and 80% from the line (13-25, 6-9, 4-5, respectively) and Purdue went 0-for-8 from behind the arc in the opening half. Purdue kept it close using its preferred inside game and free-throw shooting, but every time Purdue went on a run, Ohio State had an answer.
Near the close of the first half, Purdue went on a hard fought 11-2 run to take a 29-28 lead, but Ohio State’s Kam Williams (14 points on 5-for-6 shooting in 10 minutes) answered immediately with two quick treys in transition. Along with transition buckets, Ohio State also used crisp double-screens in the half court to get shooters open in the opening half. Williams’ burst helped Ohio State’s bench in outscoring Purdue’s bench 23-8 at the break.
Purdue made adjustments during halftime to restrict Ohio State’s potent offense. Reigning defensive player of the year recipient Rapheal Davis and P.J. Thompson both took cracks at defending Williams in an attempt to prevent him from shooting.
“Just stay with him, don’t lose him, he’s getting good looks,” Thompson said. If you make it tough for him, pressure him, stay tight with him, don’t let him get clean catches, then it’s going to be tough for him to score.”
In the second half, Williams went scoreless on only two shot attempts.
Caleb Swanigan (10 points, 10 rebounds) quickly tied the game at 38 to begin the second and was the first Boilermaker to see a three go through the nets. Purdue and Ohio State both played a very physical, passionate game and each team fought through curious officiating and odd bounces of the ball in the back and forth contest. Once Purdue finally got their outside shots to go down, the game began to open up and Purdue was able to build a 62-56 lead with 5:22 to go in the second half.
Ohio State wasn’t willing to walk away quietly, though. The Buckeyes were able to get within one at 62-61 with just under three minutes remaining before Purdue, led by Thompson, was able to pull away with aggressiveness on loose balls, steals, and by taking care of the ball. The Boilermakers outscored the Buckeyes 13-3 late to inflate the final margin more than the score perhaps should have indicated.
Here are the game highlights, from Big Ten Network:
ICYMI: AJ Hammons scored 16 points to lead @BoilerBall to a 75-64 win over Ohio State. https://t.co/CxifW7ZRWi
— Purdue On BTN (@PurdueOnBTN) January 22, 2016
Up next, Purdue will get an opportunity to avenge the loss to Iowa earlier this season, a game in which the Boilermakers led by 17 after the first half, on Sunday in Iowa City.
“Our guys are looking forward to it, but Iowa’s a great team,” Painter said.
Quick Hits:
Purdue and Ohio State each had a cold half shooting threes. In the first half Purdue was 0-for-8 and Ohio State 6-for-9, but in the second Purdue was 4 of 9 and Ohio State 0-for-5… Swanigan earned a double-double for the 7th time this season, tying Russell Cross for most all time as a Purdue freshman… Swanigan wasn’t the only player with a double-double tonight, though, as Ohio State’s Jae’Sean Tate also had a productive night (17 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals)… Ohio State remains the only Big Ten opponent with a winning record against Purdue (89-85)… A sold out Mackey Arena was decked out in white and neon green for the free t-shirt night in support of the Hammer Down Cancer initiative at Purdue… Boilermaker favorite Robbie Hummel is back on the sidelines for Purdue as a mentor to the team while he recovers from a season-ending injury; Hummel is not permitted to be on the bench or at practices per NCAA regulations… Purdue did a good job taking care of the ball with only six turnovers for the game and only two came in the second half.
