Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann sits on the bench with his team during the Ohio State-IUPUI game Jan. 18. Ohio State won 83-37. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Catching a pass with a third of the shot clock remaining, Purdue sophomore guard Jaden Ivey went to work.
Ivey drove left, putting Buckeye sophomore guard Eugene Brown III on his back thanks to a hard screen from sophomore center Zach Edey, and finished over Ohio State 6-foot-11 graduate center Joey Brunk to push the Boilermakers’ lead to 20 points. Ivey’s bucket capped off a 13-2 Purdue run over the course of the first five-plus minutes of the second half.
With the Ohio State offense in a rut to start the final frame, missing four of its first five shot attempts in addition to turning the ball over twice before the under-16 timeout, and the Buckeyes’ defense struggling to slow the high-powered Boilermakers’ offense, the game looked to be out of reach for head coach Chris Holtmann’s squad.
But the Buckeyes would not be denied, utilizing a 46-26 run to knot things up at 78 with 25 seconds remaining in regulation. Although their furious comeback would fall short, thanks to a fall-away, game-winning 3-pointer by Ivey at the buzzer, Holtmann said he was pleased with his team’s fight regardless of the game’s outcome.
“Tough one for us, but proud of our guys’ resilience for sure,” Holtmann said. “At the end of the day, some spots in the game, just didn’t play quite like we needed to win.”
At the center of Ohio State’s second-half surge was the high-low duo of freshman guard Malaki Branham and junior forward E.J. Liddell, as well as graduate guard Cedric Russell. Branham was the only Buckeye to score during Purdue’s 13-2 run to open the second half and gave his team some huge buckets down the stretch.
The freshman scored nine of his 20 points in the game’s final four minutes, adding a steal and an assist in that time. Dealing with the adverse atmosphere of Mackey Arena for the first time, Holtmann emphasized the Columbus native’s importance in crunch time.
“I thought he had some really big moments for us offensively [Sunday],” Holtmann said. “I thought he was really good and really efficient.”
Russell played a key role in keeping the Buckeyes in the hunt during the middle stages of the second half, scoring all nine of his points in the second half. The Alexandria, Louisiana, native went 4-for-7 from the field in the frame.
Liddell’s afternoon was up and down. After hitting two of his first three field goal attempts, the Belleville, Illinois, native went ice cold — missing his next seven shots.
But, Liddell could not be held down for long.
The star forward caught fire in the game’s last 10 minutes, hitting five of six attempts from the field in that span. Liddell’s ability to perform in the clutch shined Sunday as the Buckeyes’ big man hit two 3-pointers over a nine-second span in the final minute to tie the game.
“He made some big shots,” Holtmann said. “He was fantastic making those shots late. I wanted him to be even more aggressive during the guts of the game.”
Liddell’s game-tying 3-pointer was caused by the Buckeyes’ “glue guy” and graduate forward Kyle Young.
With the Boilermakers attempting to inbound the ball, Young jumped in front of the pass to force a key steal. In the scramble, Young found graduate guard Jamari Wheeler, who swung the ball to an open Liddell.
Catching the ball from near the logo, Liddell fired a missile and found the bottom of the basket to tie the game.
“Even in the scramble moment, when Kyle got the steal, I thought we played with great poise,” Holtmann said.
Although the Buckeyes clawed all the way back to make it even, it still would not be enough to pick up the win.
On what both Purdue head coach Matt Painter and Ivey said was a broken play, Ivey curled around a screen set by sophomore forward Mason Gillis and threw up a prayer over Brown’s outstretched arm — sinking the shot and the Buckeyes’ 20-point comeback attempt at the buzzer.
Despite the shot falling, Holtmann said he thought Brown defended Ivey well on the game-winner.
“I thought Gene was there,” Holtmann said. “Give [Ivey] credit; he made a tough shot.”
Although the Buckeyes’ comeback attempt fell just short, Holtmann laid out the blueprint for how he coaches his team in adverse situations.
“You’ll hear us say all the time, ‘Just stay in the moment, you got to win the next possession.’ It’s something as simple as that,” Holtmann said on his weekly radio show on 97.1 The Fan Monday. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite get it done in this one. You just have to be really resilient and understand it’s a long game.”
