Junior guard Eugene Brown III (3) looks to make a play against Purdue junior center Zach Edey (15) during the Ohio State-Purdue game Sunday. Ohio State lost 82-55. Credit: Casey Smith | LTV Sports Producer
Challenges inside the paint and foul trouble cost Ohio State its eighth-consecutive loss as No. 3 Purdue pulled away 82-55 in the second half Sunday at Mackey Arena.
Boilermakers junior center Zach Edey posted a 26-point, 11-rebound double-double as Purdue (24-4, 13-3 Big Ten) scored 40 points down low, holding off the Buckeyes who maintained a nine-point halftime deficit but couldn’t come within less than 12 in the final frame.
Junior forward Zed Key was unavailable, continuing to deal with a left shoulder injury he appeared to reaggregate last time out at Iowa.
Head coach Chris Holtmann and the Buckeyes (11-16, 3-13 Big Ten) started freshman center Felix Okpara to match up against Edey. Okpara scored four points and had as many blocks in 16 minutes.
Junior forward Owen Spencer, who initially walked on after transferring from The Citadel and later earned a scholarship midway through the season, also garnered minutes off the bench to match up with the 7-foot-4 Edey. Spencer ran into foul trouble with four in six minutes played and didn’t have a shot attempt.
Both teams shot at least 42.9 percent from the field in the first half, and Ohio State was led by freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh who went 4-of-5 from the field in the first 20 minutes and totaled 20 points.
The Buckeyes jumped out quickly to 5-0 and 8-2 leads behind two forced turnovers and Purdue’s 1-of-3 start over the first three minutes.
A five-point Boilermakers run capped by a 3-pointer from junior guard Ethan Morton brought Purdue within 8-7 before Sensabaugh made a jumper to extend it out to 10-7.
Purdue freshman guard Fletcher Loyer dropped in a 3-ball to knot the game at 10 points, and Edey made his presence known down low with back-to-back scores to give the Boilermakers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish with 15:23 left to go in the first half.
Purdue outrebounded the Buckeyes 44-21 and went 21-of-27 at the free throw line.
In the second half, Ohio State shot 37 percent while the Boilermakers cashed in for much of the period, going 54.8 percent from the field and 4-of-7 from 3 in that time.
Graduate guard Sean McNeil, who went 7-of-7 on field goals against the Hawkeyes, scored 10 points and went 0-of-5 from distance.
Ohio State shot 26.3 percent from 3-point range, falling below a 31.3 percent clip for the sixth time in the past seven games.
Holtmann and the Buckeyes fell for the eighth-straight game and 13th of the past 14.
Ohio State will begin its final, three-game homestand of the season Thursday against Penn State. The Buckeyes will tip off against the Nittany Lions at 6:30 p.m. on FS1.
