Sophomore guard Evan Mahaffey (12) and senior forward Zed Key (23) raise their arms to Buckeye Nation once the final buzzer hit zero in Ohio State’s 73-69 upset win over No. 2 Purdue Sunday at Value Center Arena at The Schottenstein Center. Credit: Caleb Blake | Lantern Photo Editor
New coach, no problem.
Despite thunderous roars from Purdue fans in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio State played to its own tune.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (15-11, 5-10 Big Ten) knocked off the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers 73-69 Sunday at Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center in dramatic fashion and was led by interim head coach Jake Diebler.
“We have some great young men in there who came together at a high level these last few days in a way that I don’t know that any of us fully anticipated that level we could get to in a short amount of time,” Diebler said. “But they deserve so much credit. I’m so very happy for them and proud of them.”
The Buckeyes were led by senior forward Zed Key, who notched a career-high five steals, and sophomore guard Bruce Thornton, who had a team-high 22 points.
Though, it didn’t start pretty for Ohio State.
Purdue scored the game’s first eight points, which featured a 3-pointer, a jump shot and an and-1.
Thornton, Ohio State’s leading scorer this season — averaging 16.1 points per game — carried the team on his back, hitting the Buckeyes’ first eight points less than five minutes into the game.
Ohio State continued to keep its deficit narrow.
Sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. threw down an explosive dunk, tying the game at 16 with 10:24 remaining in the first half.
But the Buckeyes couldn’t quite get their first lead as Boilermakers senior center Zach Edey gave Purdue the lead right back with a dunk.
Following a Purdue turnover, Ohio State freshman center Austin Parks got a shot to fall in the paint which not only gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the game, but Parks’ first collegiate career points.
With help from freshman forward Devin Royal and Thornton, the Buckeyes outscored the Boilermakers 14-2 in the final 5:27 of the first half, taking a 35-30 lead into halftime.
The Buckeyes were led by Thornton, who scored 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
The first four and a half minutes of the second half was a back-and-forth ball game.
Despite finishing the first half scoreless and in foul trouble, fifth-year forward Jamison Battle connected on a 3-pointer with 15:21 to go, which gave the Buckeyes a 44-38 lead.
Ohio State wouldn’t stop there.
Sophomore guard Evan Mahaffey stole the ball away from Edey, and Battle drilled another 3-pointer, giving Ohio State a 47-38 lead, sending Buckeye fans into a frenzy and forcing a Purdue timeout.
Still, the Boilermakers couldn’t quite get it together with Key stealing the ball following the timeout. On the other end, Thornton dished the ball out beyond the arc to Battle, who made his third straight 3-pointer. In a matter of 61 seconds, Battle and an impressive Ohio State defense gave the Buckeyes a 9-0 run, putting them ahead 50-38, a game-high Ohio State lead.
“You pick up three fouls, you sit in the first half, it’s alright, you come out in the second half it’s a new opportunity,” Battle said, “And within that, my teammates have the utmost trust in me, I have the utmost confidence in myself shooting and they showed that today. Finding me for those three threes.”
Ohio State continued to play stout defense against Purdue’s offensive attack down the stretch.
With 3:56 to go in the game, Buckeyes fifth-year guard Dale Bonner drilled a much-needed three for Ohio State, pushing its lead to seven.
However, the Boilermakers weren’t done.
While holding the Buckeyes scoreless, the Boilermakers connected on their next four free throws, followed by a Jones 3-pointer which tied the game at 65 with 1:39 remaining. Purdue was perfect from the line on the day going 20-for-20.
For Ohio State, Battle hit a jumper and then two good free throws of his own, but Edey quickly followed up with a dunk and all of a sudden, the Boilermakers were back within striking distance, bringing them within two, 69-67.
In the final 34 seconds, the Buckeyes went 6-for-6 on their free throws, four from Battle and two from Thornton, sealing the game for Ohio State, despite a layup by sophomore guard Braden Smith with two seconds remaining.
The Buckeyes will travel to Minnesota as they’re set to visit the Golden Gophers on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Big Ten Network will broadcast.
