No. 3 Buckeyes Close Big to Top Purdue
By RUSTY MILLER
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ron Lewis hit a key driving layup and No. 3 Ohio State overcame Greg Oden’s foul trouble, closing on an 11-4 run to hold off Purdue 63-56 on Saturday.
The Buckeyes (22-3, 10-1 Big Ten) were in trouble throughout the second half before Lewis broke a tie at 52-52 with a layup with 3:07 remaining off a long pass from Mike Conley Jr.
Ohio State, which won its ninth game in a row and ran its record to 16-0 at home, never trailed again but Purdue threatened right up to the final seconds.
Oden, playing roughly half the game, finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. He had two fouls at the half and picked up his third early in the second half.
Still, he contributed two critical points down the stretch when he tossed in two foul shots – shooting with his off (left) hand – with just over 2 minutes left to expand the lead to four.
Conley Jr., Oden’s Indianapolis high school teammate, added 14 points and four assists.
David Teague led the Boilermakers (16-9, 5-6) with 17 points, with Carl Landry adding 13 and Tarrance Crump 12.
Ohio State outscored Purdue 17-5 over the final 8 minutes.
Purdue, which has lost seven in a row and 13 of the last 14 meetings with Ohio State, grabbed a 51-46 lead at the 7:58 mark. Down 46-43, they put together an 8-0 run with Teague hitting two 3-pointers sandwiched around a rebound follow by Gordon Watt.
Oden, playing with four fouls, returned to the game and hit a right-handed half-hook to cut the lead to 51-50.
After Lewis’ layup in transition and Oden’s two foul shots, Teague scored on a drive. Conley then scissored through Purdue’s defense for a layup in heavy traffic. After Landry lost the ball when he dribbled it off his foot, Lewis was fouled with 26 seconds left and hit one shot.
Chris Kramer cut the lead to 59-56 with two foul shots with 19.3 seconds left, but Jamar Butler was fouled almost immediately after Ohio State inbounded and then hit both shots.
Lewis later added two clinching foul shots.
On Purdue’s last possession, Keaton Grant drove the lane and Oden swatted his shot into the seats near the Purdue bench.
The Buckeyes had one of their worst shooting games of the season, hitting just 14 of 21 free throws and making 43 percent of their shots from the field – including just 3 of 17 3-pointers.
Conley had 10 points and two assists – scoring the Buckeyes’ first five points – and Ohio State took a 33-30 lead at the half. There were five ties and seven lead changes.
Ohio State honored its past captains at halftime.