Indiana Loses Heartbreaker to No. 10 Purdue With Another Late-Game Collapse

Indiana let a last-second lead slip away for the second straight game and lost to No. 10 Purdue on Friday night, falling 81-76 at Mackey Arena. It was the third straight loss for the Hoosiers.

Indiana forward Mackenzie Mgbako (21) makes a three-point basket over Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer (2) during the first half. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Finish. It was the operative word all week for Indiana as it prepared for its Friday night showdown with arch-rival Purdue.

Finish. They couldn't do last weekend in a devastating loss to Maryland. And they couldn't do it again against Purdue, failing to execute on several last-second possessions and allowing the Boilermakers to sneak away with a gut-wrenching 81-76 victory.

Finished.

"It's very frustrating, because we were right there and that close,'' said Indiana senior guard Trey Galloway, who had 15 points and six assists in 26 minutes. "We want to win in the worst way possible. It's always challenging to lose games like this, and it's really frustrating. The effort was there and fought, and we kept competing.''

For the second straight game, Indiana failed to execute on every possession in the final seconds. Galloway scored on back-to-back possessions to give Indiana a 76-75 lead with 29 seconds to go. Purdue called timeout and got the ball into forward Trey Kaufman-Renn's hands. Indiana's Oumar Ballo pushed him off the block a bit, but he hit a 15-footer to put Purdue back ahead with 11 seconds left.

Indiana had two timeouts left, but they inbounded the ball to point guard Myles Rice — who failed to score all night in 20 minutes and was benched for most of the second half. He was back on the floor after Anthony Leal fouled out with 1:51 to go.

Rice took off down the right sideline and never slowed down. Indiana coach Mike Woodson wanted a timeout, but there was no official nearby and Rice wasn't about to slow down. Purdue's Gicarri Harris stayed with him stride for stride and forced Rice to head to the rim from a bad angle. He missed the shot, with Harris having a hand in his face. Purdue rebounded, and Fletcher Loyer made to free throws to make it 79-76.

Indiana's last attempt failed too. Galloway threw and inbounds pass the length of the court, hoping to hit Malik Reneau, who then could have fed either Mackenzie Mgbako or Luke Goode streaking down the sidelines. But the pass was long, and Purdue recovered. Kaufman-Renn was fouled and iced the game with two more free throws.

"I couldn't get his attention, and by the time he got where he was going, we couldn't do anything,'' Woodson said. "It was too late and the official went by. I thought he got fouled, but they didn't call it.''

The final heave was a set play, but it just didn't work.

"We were hoping to drop it off to Malik (Reneau) and hit a shooter,'' Woodson said. "You can't blame it on that, it's just one play.''

Ballo, who had 14 points and eight rebounds, gave Rice an earful after the game, upset that his point guard made a bad decision on that drive. Rice missed the last shot against Maryland too.

"Everybody's heated in the heat of the moment,'' Woodson said. ''He didn't think it was a good play and he voiced his opinion on it, which is OK. You just hope to learn from it and move on.''

The two teams exchanged punches for most of the first half, with neither team leading by more than five points through the first 14 minutes. Indiana was the first to make a run, though, scoring nine straight points to take a 36-29 lead with 3:47 to go in the half.

Luke Goode was huge off the bench with 13 first-half points, including three three-pointers. Mackenzie Mgbako had 11 and Oumar Ballo had nine. Indiana made 4-of-13 threes, while Purdue made just 1-of-6 from deep.

Things changed quickly after halftime, though. Indiana picked up four fouls in the first 90 seconds and Purdue went on an 11-1 run to open the half and take a seven-point lead.

But Mgbako, who finished with 25 pointed blocked Braden Smith's shot on a drive and then hit a three to tie the game at 58-58. Then he scores again on a drive to give Indiana the lead at 60-58. The Hoosiers stretched to 67-61, but then Purdue tied it up with six quick points.

Purdue tied it at 67-67 on a Braden Smith steal off of Anthony Leal with 3:42 to go.

Smith, who had 24 points, made two free throws to put Purdue ahead 74-72. Ballo was stripped on a tough post feed on the other end and Purdue gets a run-out for C.J. Cox. He made one free throw to make it 75-72, but then Galloway put the Hoosiers back in front with his two buckets.

It all went south from there, though, with Kaufman-Renn's shot and the two failed offensive possessions for Indiana. This was their third-straight loss, and they are now 14-8 over all and 5-6 in the Big Ten. They play again at Wisconsin on Tuesday night.

"It's just about making plays down the stretch. We didn't do it in the Maryland game and tonight we had our chances.'' Woodson said. "We couldn't get the key stops. Kaufman hits a 15-foot hook shot and then we couldn't get it done on the other end.''

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