Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Fall Short in Big Ten Tournament Championship Game
By John PorentasA hot shooting streak by Purdue's E'Twaun Moore and Purdue's overall strength on the offensive glass added up to a 65-61 win for Boilermakers in the Big Ten tournament title contest over a game Ohio State team.
Moore connected on five three pointers in 10 attempts in scoring a team-high 17 point. Three of Moore's three pointers came during an eight minute span in the second half that saw Purdue (25-9) turn a six point OSU lead into a seven point lead for the Boilermakers. From that point on Purdue was in control and the Buckeyes (22-10) were playing catchup.
Ohio State had led throughout the first half on the strength of some very good shooting of their own and a defensive effort that held Purdue to just 28 percent shooting from the field. Despite the poor shooting the Boilermakers trailed by only five at the half due in part to their strength on the offensive glass and ability to take advantage of OSU's miscues. The Boilers got up six more shots than OSU thanks to eight offensive rebounds and seven first half turnovers by the Buckeyes. The extra shots helped them offset their poor shooting percentage.
"We didn't make our free throws and we missed some open shots, but we were getting rebounds and taking care of the basketball," said Boilermaker Head Coach Matt Painter of his team's first half performance.
The Boilermakers continued that trend in the second half, and when Moore finally heated up, it spelled doom for the Buckeyes. For the game Purdue turned the ball over just seven times and collected a whopping 18 offensive rebounds. That led to 13 second chance points for Purdue compared to just two for OSU. Purdue also outscored the Buckeyes 12-2 in points off turnovers.
"The rebounding really got us," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta. "The rebounding was something that really got us."
The Boilers beat up the Buckeyes on the glass and probably won the game with that effort, but the OSU effort definitely had its high points as well. Dallas Lauderdale continued his strong play down low and Evan Turner scored a game-high 22 points. Both Jon Diebler and William Buford reached double figures, both scoring 15 points, and with the exception of that eight minute period in the second half when the Boilers were able to free up Moore for open threes, OSU's defense was very effective.
"We held them to 34 percent (from the field), 28 percent in the first half. I thought our defensive intensity was pretty good," said Matta.
Purdue's scoring binge was not so much a matter of an OSU defensive lapse as a matter of good execution by Purdue.
"They did a great job of moving the zone and had a lot of flash cutters, people in the low post. Then E'Twaun Moore flashed to that corner and he was hitting the shots tonight," said OSU center Dallas Lauderdale.
"They started swinging the ball fast and he was in the corner. He got that open look and he was knocking them down," added guard P. J. Hill.
Purdue extended its second half lead to as many as nine at 52-43 and it looked like the Buckeyes were teetering on the verge of being blown out. To their credit, they sucked it up and made their own run at the Boilers. Trailing by nine at 58-49 at the 5:40 mark, OSU went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to three with 1:33 left to play. Turner scored five of the points on two field goals and a free throw.
Down three the Buckeyes needed a stop and almost got it when Moore missed a three pointer with 1:09 remaining, but Purdue's Robbie Hummel was somehow able to end up with an offensive rebound despite the fact that OSU's Hill appeared to be in position to get it.
"I feel like I boxed out and Robbie Hummel jumped over my back, but that's part of the game, whoever wants the ball more," said Hill.
The new possession allowed Purdue to reset their offense and with 44 second left on the clock Keaton Grant nailed a three pointer that for all intents and purposes put away the game.
The loss was bitter for OSU but they seemed to take solace in defeat that the fact that they had played toe to toe with Purdue, something they did not do this season when the Boilers blew them out 75-50 at West :LaFayette on February 28.
"We're disappointed in the loss but we're proud of how we fought out the game," said guard Jeremie Simmons.
"We didn't quit this time. We continued to play. We got better."
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