Key stretch
Purdue was up just two
around the three-minute mark
of the first half, before Anthony
Johnson hit a runner, then Ronnie Johnson found Byrd for an
open three-pointer that finally
seemed to give Purdue some
breathing room. Back-to-back
Hammons buckets capped a run
of nine straight Purdue points
and gave it an 11-point lead with
seven seconds left.
Brandon Taylor hit a shot
from beyond halfcourt at the
buzzer to cut it to eight, but with
the way Penn State was functioning on offense, eight may as well
have been 20.
Key stat
Obviously it didn't influence
the outcome of the game, but
Purdue defied some odds in the
sense that it won despite making less than half its 21 attempts
from the foul line.
"We have to do a better job
making free throws," Byrd said
of Purdue's 10-of-21 shooting.
"We made (less than) half our
free throws. We have to get in
the gym and work on that so we
can start rewarding ourselves for
getting to the hole and getting
good shots."
On a much more positive
note, Purdue outrebounded
Penn State 42-33, though 14 offensive boards gave the Lions
hope where there otherwise
would have been little.
No. 15 OHIO STATE 74,
PURDUE 64
Jan. 8 • Mackey Arena
Playing in a raucous Mackey
Arena environment, Ohio State
controlled the first half against
Purdue, then held on in the sec-
ond half as the Boilermakers
kept close.
The Buckeyes dominated the
boards in the first half as Deshaun
Thomas did seemingly whatever
he wanted on offense.
In the second half, Buckeye
point guard Aaron Craft made
important plays to keep Purdue
at arm's length, after the veteran
had been limited in the first half
by foul trouble.
Meanwhile, Purdue took iffy
shots en route to shooting just
Our special guest is Cathy Wright-Eger, who will
discuss the John R. Wooden Leadership Institute
Next Show Jan. 18 at 2 P.M.!
Fridays this winter at
a computer near you
Gold and Black LIVE
featuring the staff of GoldandBlack.com
Interactive live video-stream sports talk show — ask questions,
chat with other fans! Show will stream live on WLFI.com on selected Fridays during football
and basketball season.
For complete schedule, visit the college page on WLFI.com.
Trent Johnson, Agent
GoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 17 • 9
