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Ohio State Falters Late In 71-69 Loss To Top-Ranked Purdue

The Boilermakers have won eight of their last 11 games against the Buckeyes, including four of five in Columbus.

Andrew Lind

In this story:

Despite a game-high 21 points from freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh, No. 24 Ohio State came up just short in Thursday night’s matchup with top-ranked Purdue, 71-69.

The Buckeyes took a three-point lead with 41 seconds remaining on a three-pointer from fifth-year senior guard Sean McNeil, but a late turnover allowed the Boilermakers to hit the game-winning three with 11 on the clock.

Sensabaugh had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but he struggled to get a clean shot off under heavy defensive pressure. The loss, which was Ohio State’s first at home this season, dropped the Buckeyes to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play. 

First Half:

  • Sensabaugh, the three-time reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, got the scoring started for the Buckeyes with a dunk on their first possession of the game.
  • Junior forward Zed Key left the game with a left shoulder injury after battling Purdue center Zach Edey for a defensive rebound, heading to the locker room at the 16:12 mark of the first half.
  • McNeil injured his right ankle after coming down on the foot of a defender on a three-point attempt, walking off the court under his own power before making his way to the locker room.
  • Ohio State went on an 12-0 run to take a 18-7 lead at the under-12 timeout, as freshman center Felix Okpara’s block of Edey led to a transition and-one by Sensabaugh on the other end.
  • Key was ruled out with a shoulder sprain, while McNeil returned to the Buckeyes’ bench and subsequently checked back with the Buckeyes holding an eight-point advantage at the under-8 timeout.
  • Sensabaugh, who had a game-high 13 points at halftime, made a mid-range jumper to put Ohio State ahead 30-21 with just over four minutes remaining in the half.
  • Purdue went on a 12-3 run, with every basket a three-pointer, to tie the game at 33-all before junior guard Eugene Brown knocked down one of his own to give the Buckeyes a 36-33 advantage at the break.

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Second Half:

  • The Boilermakers took their first lead since it was 7-6 with 15:42 remaining in the first half with a quick 5-0 run out of intermission, which Okpara ended with a jumper.
  • Edey, who was limited to just four points in the first half, scored six points in the first three minutes of the second half to pull the Boilermakers within one, 43-42.
  • Sixth-year senior forward Justice Sueing hit a three to extend the Buckeyes' lead to 46-42, but back-to-back three-pointers by Purdue gave the Boilermakers a 48-46 lead with 14:22 left in the game.
  • Okpara blocked Edey’s shot once again, which led to another dunk in transition by Sensabaugh to cut Purdue’s lead to 50-52. He then added two straight layups to tie the game at 54-all.
  • Ohio State went on a 6-0 run to take a 62-58 lead with 6:30 remaining before Purdue’s Ethan Morton knocked down a three-pointer to cut it to one.
  • The Boilermakers appeared to take a three-point lead on a layup, but Morton was called for a travel. Sensabaugh’s floating layup then gave the Buckeyes a 65-64 lead with just over three minutes remaining.
  • After Edey hit a pair of free throws, Okpara split a pair to tie it at 66. McNeil then knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key with 41 seconds remaining to put Ohio State ahead, 69-66.
  • Edey's basket with 28 seconds remaining pulled Purdue within one, while a steal on the inbound ultimately led to Fletcher Loyer's game-winner with 11 seconds remaining.

The Buckeyes will look to rebound from the tough loss to the Boilermakers when they travel to Maryland on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN.

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Andrew Lind
ANDREW LIND

Andrew Lind is an Ohio State beat writer and photographer at BuckeyesNow, founder of The Ohio State Uniform Database and the NCAA and NFL writer at SportsLogos.net.

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