Field Level Media
Feb 15, 2020
Kyle Young scored a career high 16 points and Kaleb Wesson had 13 points and eight rebounds as Ohio State defeated Purdue 68-52 in a Big Ten Conference game at Columbus on Saturday.
The Buckeyes (17-8, 7-7 Big Ten) have won two straight and five of six. Young's previous best was 15 points vs. Stetson on Nov. 18.
Evan Boudreaux had 17 points and Jahaad Proctor added 15 for Purdue (14-12, 7-8), which has lost two in a row after a three-game winning streak.
Ohio State took a 39-23 lead early in the second half, but the Boilermakers drew within 45-36 on am Eric Hunter Jr. basket with 10:17 remaining. The Purdue rally three days after the Buckeyes' 72-66 win over Rutgers that saw a 20-point lead with eight minutes left dwindle to three before holding on.
But 3-pointers by Wesson and Luther Muhammad (11 points) and a pair of Wesson free throws increased the advantage to 53-36 with 7:33 remaining.
The Buckeyes went 9 of 20 (45.0 percent) from 3-point range. In Purdue's 88-76 loss to Penn State on Tuesday, the Boilermakers saw their opponent hit 14 3-pointers. Purdue made 4 of 20 (20.0 percent) from long distance against the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes led 29-20 at the end of a first half that had both teams enduring long droughts. Ohio State went 6:32 without a field goal until a 3-pointer by Duane Washington Jr. made it 21-12.
A 3-pointer by Justin Ahrens pushed the lead to 24-12 while Purdue was held scoreless for six minutes, missing eight shots.
When Wesson went to the bench with his second foul at the 5:59 mark, the Boilermakers ran off six straight points as OSU's scoreless streak extended to 5:19 until an Andre Wesson tip-in put the Buckeyes ahead 26-18 with 1:40 left.
Purdue shot 32 percent (8 for 25) in the first half. The Buckeyes attempted only 22 shots but made 10, including five 3-pointers.
Ohio State visits No. 21 Iowa on Thursday. Purdue plays at Wisconsin on Tuesday.
--Field Level Media