Loyer’s three lifts No. 1 Purdue 71-69 over No. 24 Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Fletcher Loyer made ago-ahead 3-pointer with 11 seconds left and No. 1 Purdue bouncedback from its first loss of the season with a 71-69 victory overNo. 24 Ohio State on Thursday night.

The Boilermakers (14-1, 3-1 Big Ten) trailed 69-66 with 41seconds remaining after Ohio State’s Sean McNeil made a 3pointer.

Zach Edey responded with a bucket on the other end, and Purdueforced a turnover on the Buckeyes’ next possession.

After Loyer’s 3, the Boilermakers defended Ohio State’s finalpossession and Brice Sensabaugh’s final shot didn’t get off intime.

“Going in, you knew they’d have to help on Zach, so I knew I hadto be ready to shoot to help the team win,” Loyer said.

Edey and Braden Smith each scored 16 points for Purdue, whichhad four players in double figures.

“We’re seconds away from feeling like crap again after a loss,but really digging down defensively and getting that big stop andnot giving up a 3 there at the end is what we focused on,” Loyersaid. “We stayed tight and stayed true to our principles.”

Sensabaugh scored 21 points for Ohio State (10-4, 2-1), whichshot 50% from the field.

The lead changed nine times in the final eight minutes of thesecond half. Loyer made a 3 pointer to give the Boilermakers a64-63 lead with under 5 minutes to go. Both teams went scorelessuntil Sensabaugh made a jumper to give Ohio State a 65-64 lead with3:19 left.

Edey made free throws to flip the score back in favor of Purdue,but he fouled Felix Okpara, who knotted the game at 66 with 1:57left on a free throw of his own.

The Buckeyes held a 36-33 advantage at halftime behind 13first-half points from Sensabaugh. Purdue shot 38.2% in the firsthalf after beginning 3 of 18 from the field.

“This was a back-and-forth contest,” Ohio State coach ChrisHoltmann said. “I think more than anything as a coach you’relooking back, and you’d like to have a couple of those plays backas a coach.”

FINDING IT FROM 3

Purdue hasn’t relied often on shooting from distance.

Against the Buckeyes, the Boilermakers had 13 buckets from 3,which is a season high. They hadn’t made more than seven 3-pointersin six games.

Loyer, David Jenkins Jr. and Braden Smith each had three fromthe perimeter.

“We haven’t done that in a long time,” Purdue coach Matt Paintersaid. “I just feel like our shooting is much better than we haveshown, but I think it’s also a strength.”

KEY EXITS GAME

Zed Key exited just under four minutes into the game and didn’treturn due to a shoulder sprain, according to an Ohio Statespokesperson.

Holtmann said he had “no update” postgame and he’ll know moreFriday.

LOYER LIGHTS UP IN SECOND HALF

Starting the game and going 0 of 6 from the field in the firsthalf, Loyer began the second on the bench.

He found his footing in the final period, shooting 66%,including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.

“I played probably my worst half of college basketball so far,”Loyer said. “Coming off the bench in the second half, I knew I hadto focus and play hard and play defense, so I focused on that. Andthen I happened to get a few open looks that helped the game gofrom there.”

BIG PICTURE

Purdue: The Boilermakers avoided their second straight loss byoutshooting Ohio State 50% to 45.2% in the second half. They beganthe game 3 of 18 from the field, but fought back behind 12 pointsand 11 second-half points from Edey and Loyer, respectively.

Ohio State: Sensabaugh has reached double figures for theseventh consecutive game. The freshman had at least 20 points forthe third time in five games and made a team-best 10 field goals on17 attempts.

UP NEXT

Purdue: At Penn State Sunday.

Ohio State: At Maryland Sunday.