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Ohio State hands Purdue first home loss

Feb 1, 2007 - 7:22 AM WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (Ticker) -- By acting as a rude guest, Ohio State coach Thad Matta's team moved to the top of the pack.

Freshman Mike Conley, Jr. scored 18 points and Jamar Butler added 16 to lead No. 4 Ohio State to its sixth consecutive victory, a 78-60 triumph over Purdue in a Big Ten Conference matchup.

The Buckeyes (19-3, 7-1 Big Ten) defeated the Boilermakers for the sixth consecutive time and handed them their first home loss in 13 contests this season. The win also enabled Ohio State to move into a first-place tie with Wisconsin in conference play.

Ohio State jumped to a 24-14 lead midway through the first half before Purdue came back with a 15-4 run. Gordon Watt opened the burst with a 3-pointer and added a layup and Marcus Green hit consecutive baskets to help give the Boilermakers a 29-28 edge.

However, Conley made a layup and Butler drilled a 3-pointer for Ohio State before Chris Lutz buried a jumper for Purdue, which got within 33-31 at halftime.

The Buckeyes gradually widened the margin in the second half as Conley and Butler hit baskets from the arc sandwiched around Ron Lewis' follow shot in an 8-0 spurt for a 58-45 advantage with 8:55 remaining.

Tarrance Crump scored seven straight points for the Boilermakers, highlighted by a three-point play, to help cut the deficit to 68-60 with 2:58 left.

However, Ohio State finished strong, scoring the game's final 10 points - all by Freshman. David Lighty hit a layup, Conley made 4-of-4 free throws and Daequan Cook and Greg Oden dunked in the final moments.

Cook scored 12 points with 10 rebounds and Oden added nine points for the Buckeyes, who shot nearly 52 percent (30-of-58) from the floor.

Ohio State made 8-of-18 shots from the arc and had a 38-29 rebounding edge for the game, while outscoring Purdue, 45-29, in the second half.

Carl Landry scored 16 points and Crump had 11 for Purdue (14-8, 3-5), which lost for the third time in four games.

The Boilermakers were limited to 38 percent (25-of-66) shooting and have dropped nine of the last 11 meetings against the Buckeyes.