Hammons has career day; OSU notes

ThiswaswhatMattPainterhadwantedallseason:A.J.HammonstobethefocusofPurdue'soffenseandthebigmantostayonthecourtlongenoughtomakeitmatter.

HammonsnearlydidenoughtohelptheBoilermakerspulloffamajorupsetonTuesday.

Hetiedacareerhighinminutes(33),hadcareerhighswith16reboundsandfourassistsandhadaseason-high16shots.

HammonsdidsomuchrightagainstNo.3OhioState.Butonestatisticwasglaringaftera78-69loss.

"Iwas6-of-16(shooting).That'sjusthorrible,"saidHammons,whostillhadaseason-high18pointsforthefirstdouble-doubleofhissophomoreyear.

Butit'sencouragingfortheBoilermakers,too.

Painterhasbeenyappingathisguardsallseasontofeedthepostwithregularity,butit'sonlybeenabletohappensporadically.PartiallybecauseoftheguardsandpartiallybecauseHammonshasstruggledtostayoutoffoultrouble.

ButagainsttheunbeatenBuckeyes,Hammonsdidn'tpickuphisfirstfouluntiltherewas6:35leftinthegame,andhisteammateslookedforhimasthefirstoptionoftenwhentheysetupinthehalfcourt.Helargelyrespondedwithstrongpost-ups,andthatgotOhioState'sleadingrebounder,AmirWilliams,infoultroubleearlyandlefthimlargelyanon-factor.

Hammonsshowedwhyhecanbeagoodfirstoptionbecauseofhisabilitytofacilitate.HetouchedtheballonPurdue'sfirstfourpossessionsonoffense,anditledtofourpointsdirectlyfromHammonsandathree-pointerfromRaphealDaviswhenHammonswentinside-out.Hammonsalsohadakeeneyeforotherscuttingthroughthepaint,findingBasilSmothermanandDavisforbaskets.

Whileattackingtheboards,healsodidagoodjobofquicklyfeedingtheoutlettoallowPurdue'sguardstopushitdownthefloor.

"Thisisthefirstgamewe'vedoneareallygoodjobintermsofgettinghimtheballinpositioneithertoscoreortoplayoutofthepost,"Paintersaid."Hisabilitytoreboundwasverygoodanditallowedustohaveanine-reboundadvantageoveraprettygoodbasketballteam.Buttheyweresmallerbecauseoffoultrouble.Hedidagoodjobplayingwithoutfouling,reboundingthebasketball.Iknowhewisheshecouldhaveahandfulofthoseshotsbackbecausehenormallymakesthoseshots.

"ButIthoughthedidagoodjob.Hepassedtheball.Hegotblocks."

Hammonsratedhisplayasonly"OK,"pointingtothosemissedshotsandfourturnovers.

Butalloftheothercategories,includingsix-of-eightfree-throwshootingandfiveblocks,werepromising.

"ToseeA.J.'simprovementovertimeandtohaveadouble-double(Tuesday),he'satremendousbasketballplayer,andhisfutureisasgreatasPurdue'sis,"OhioStatecoachThadMattasaid.

CraftyveteranAaronCraftisoneoftheBigTen'sbestpointguardsandhaswowedMattawithregularityoverafour-yearcareer.Butthesenior'sperformanceTuesdaywasparticularlyspecial.

CraftcontrolledOhioState'soffense,especiallyinthesecondhalf,usinghisabilitytoprobethedefenseandfindteammatesforbasketsasadifference-makerinkeepingtheBuckeyesunbeaten.

Hefinishedwith10assists,zeroturnovers,fourstealsandeightrebounds,allonthedefensiveend.Heplayed40minutes,too.

"ThatperformanceAaronCraftjusthadmaybeoneofhisbest,"Mattasaid."Whatdoyousay?Hispoise,hehadgreatreadsonthepenetration.Iwantedtheballinhishandsbecauseheknewwhereeverybodywasonthefloor.Hefoundguys."

TeroneJohnsonseemedtodothebestatcontainingCraft,whileSterlingCarterandfreshmanBrysonScottseemedovermatched.

Onthefinalpossessionofthefirsthalf,ScottallowedCrafttogetpasthimandthenworkhiswaydownthebaselinebeforehefoundLenzelleSmithforabasketatthebuzzer.

WhenJohnsonheadedtothebenchwithafour-pointdeficitmidwaythroughthesecondhalf,Craftquicklytookadvantage.HedrovepastCarterandzippedapasstoMarcLovingforathree-pointerandthenbeatCarteragainonthenextpossessionoffadrivethatproducedShannonScott'sthree-pointerandCraft's10thassist.ThatspurtgaveOhioStatea58-51lead,oneit'donlybuildonthefinaleightminutes.

"WhatmakesforgoodoffenseisAaronCraft,"Paintersaid."Hisabilitytoprobethedefenseandkeephisdribblealiveandbepatientallowsotherguystodotheirthing.Itallowsgoodspacing.Anytimeyoucanhavethatkindofpatiencefromyourpointguard,itmakesforgoodoffense.

"He'sabletoaffectthegamewithoutscoring,andveryfewpeoplecandothat,especiallywhenyou're6foot."

HandlingadversityAtpointsthisseason,Painterhasn'tthoughthisteamhasrespondedwelltoadversity.

OhioStateproducedanotherscenarioforacollapseonTuesday.

Duringaone-minutestretchinthesecondhalf,Smithgotanand-oneopportunityforthego-aheadbasketonanapparentcontinuationcall,Scottwaswhistledforafoulatmidcourtafterascrambleforalooseball,andLaQuintonRossgotabasket-and-a-foulafterSmothermanwascalledforablockingfoulthatfansthoughtwasacharge.

Inthesamespan,HammonsmissedachippyinsideandScottwasstrippedforasteal.

Beforethestretch,thegamewastied.Afterit,OhioStateled50-46.

ButPainterwasn'tatalldisappointedinhisteam'sreactiontothecrazyspurt.

"Ithoughttheyweregood,"hesaid."Wemadeacoupleyoungmistakesafterthat,butIdidn'tthinkitwasthereactionoverthosecalls.Wehadacoupleill-advisedshots,wehadaturnover,andtheywereabletoscore.ButIdidn'tthinkitwaspeoplebeingfrustratedorupsetaboutcallsthatledtothoseplays.Ithoughttheystoodalone.

"Iwaspleasedwithourguysthewaytheyhandledsomethings."

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