Big plays at the end allow Purdue to shake Ohio State in Columbus

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — P.J. Thompson couldn't remember what he did exactly, whether it was three fingers tapped against his head or a muscle flex of some sort, which would have been a bit ironic given his stature.

But after he made a three-pointer with 1:21 left to play Thursday night at Ohio State, he had to do something. He'd just snapped a run of eight straight Purdue misses from deep and propelled the 20th-ranked Boilermakers toward a 76-75 win in Value City Arena, where wins have for Purdue haven't come often.

Purdue needed Thompson's clutch shot, more of the same from Caleb Swanigan and a little good fortune to get it done.

With about 15 seconds left, Ohio State's Trevor Thompson tied the game - Purdue couldn't hold the four-point lead P.J. Thompson's shot provided - when he picked up a loose ball under Purdue's basket and laid it in while drawing a foul on Carsen Edwards. But the Buckeye big man missed the and-one foul shot that would have put Ohio State ahead.

At the other end, Swanigan faced Thompson up and shot-faked. Thompson bit, jumping, opening himself up for Swanigan to drive into him for a foul.

Swanigan made the first free throw. He missed the second, but JaQuan Lyle's running three at the buzzer to win it caught the back of the iron, sending the Boilermakers dashing off the Value City Arena floor with a harrowing victory.

Previously, Purdue had led by as many as 10 in the second half, but let that lead slip. Nevertheless, it made enough plays on offense, strung together enough stops on defense and had enough good fortune down the stretch to fight back.

"We made runs, they made runs, but we finished the game," Thompson said. "In past years, we might not have finished it. We had the experience and the toughness tonight to get a road win."

Purdue did have some luck on its side, beyond Trevor Thompson missing the go-ahead free throw.

With less than two-and-a-half minutes left, Vincent Edwards hit Carsen Edwards under the basket with the shot clock down to just fumes. It was very close, whether the freshman got his shot off on time. Replays showed some real question over whether the last two of the rookie's 12 points should have counted.

"I thought it was in his hand," Coach Matt Painter said in an uncommon disclosure by a coach post-game about such a play. "We got lucky."

Carsen Edwards missed the shot, but tipped it back in for a critical basket that gave Purdue a five-point cushion and a field goal when field goals were hard to come by.

That might have been a stroke of luck.

But Purdue made a lot of its own luck, too. It repeatedly beat Ohio State to offensive rebounds, generating 19 second-chance points.

"We work on that all the time," said Dakota Mathias, who scored 14 points. "It's a staple of what we do: Playing hard."

And it made big plays, maybe none bigger than Thompson's triple.

On that play, Swanigan posted up. After he'd turned the ball over earlier when Ohio State ran someone at him, he rifled an outlet to the open Thompson, who splashed the biggest shot of the game, aside from Swanigan's game-winner from the foul line.

"The last time, they'd gotten me for a jump ball, JaQuan and them were digging (at the ball on double teams)," Swanigan said. "I waited for it, because I knew it was going to come, threw it out to him and he got a good shot."

It was one of many big plays from Swanigan, who was labeled "the best player in the country" by Mathias outside Purdue's idling bus following the Boilermakers' win.

Swanigan shook off an uncharacteristically non-descript first half and finished 16 points, 11 rebounds, the game-winning shot and the evening's biggest assist.

He was complemented nicely by fellow forward Vincent Edwards, who returned to the starting lineup — center Isaac Haas came off the bench – and delivered 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. His four offensive rebounds were profoundly important, as was this win to him - and Mathias - being an Ohio native who takes a special pleasure in winning vs. the state school that didn't recruit him.

"I'd be lying if I told you I didn't," he said.

The junior's back-to-back baskets late in the first half capped an 11-0 Purdue run before Marc Loving made an impossible three-point heave to end the first half, cutting a seven-point Boilermaker lead to four.

Vincent Edwards scored four points early in the second as Purdue extended its lead into double-digits, peaking at 53-43 with 16-and-a-half minutes left.

Purdue won the game as much on defense as it did offense.

After Ohio State shot 50 percent in the first half, it shot just 38 in the second, and the Boilermakers controlled the glass to the tune of a 44-32 rebounding margin, with Haas grabbing 10 boards in 20 minutes in reserve.

Purdue needed answers defensively in the second half and found them.

"It was one of those games we had to grind out," Vincent Edwards said, "and we grinded it out."

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