Every twist seemed to put No. 24 Ohio State on the verge of closing out Thursday’s Big Ten tournament game.
Every turn put the defending tourney champs right back on the verge of becoming the victim of a stunning first-round upset.
After LaQuinton Ross and Aaron Craft combined for nine points during a key second-half spurt, No. 24 Ohio State still needed Terone Johnson to miss a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to hang on for a 63-61 victory over Purdue.
“It’s finding a way,” Craft said. “It doesn’t matter how ugly a game is at this point, it’s about trying to find a way to keep playing and luckily we were able to do that again.”
The Buckeyes fouled Purdue’s Ronnie Johnson in the backcourt to prevent the Boilermakers (15-17) from even attempting a 3 that could have forced overtime.
Johnson made the first, missed the second and the Boilermakers were awarded possession on the rebound with 1.2 seconds to go after a lengthy replay review. Johnson’s older brother, Terone, got a good look from the left wing but the shot came up short and the fifth-seeded Buckeyes somehow survived. They’ll face fourth-seeded Nebraska in Friday’s quarterfinals.
“Hopefully those games that we played earlier in the year helped us get to this point, especially if we get in another game like that,” Craft said.
Ross finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds, Craft added 16 points and Smith Jr. scored nine to become the 26th player in school history with 1,000 career points.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
