Ivey's Step-Back Three Pointer Helps to Slay #15 aOSU
(photo credit Purdue Sports @BoilerBall)
Stop me if you’ve heard this one- Trevion gets in foul trouble, Purdue struggles shooting the ball and Purdue fights back against a ranked foe, just to fall behind in the closing minutes…
Oh yeah, we’ve been there.
But versus MSU, Purdue took only its second lead of the game with mere seconds to win the game. Tonight, these young Boilers followed a similar script, with a different ending. This time it was Jaden Ivey’s turn to make the big shot.
With the game tied at 64 and under a minute left to play, Purdue got the ball. Paint drew up a Trevion screen and put the ball in the hands of Jaden Ivey…a true Freshman who has shown flashes of greatness and a knack to get to the hoop. Ivey saw aOSU sagging off of him a bit, and decided to take a three from deep…Splash…Good Guys go on to win. This time, they beat the 15th-best team in America. That’s the first time they’ve done that in nearly nine years.
Something special is developing…
An emotional Jaden Ivey was showered with bottled water after the game as he and his teammates celebrated a big shot and a new vibe for these Boilers. Purdue’s Freshman class just might be as special as we all hoped when we saw five of them play in their very first game of the season (an unprecedented feat, I believe).
Sasha’s three pointers weren’t falling, so he took to driving the ball, and scored 15 points while only going 1-5 from deep. Wheeler made a huge and smart defensive play that helped seal the victory. Edey kept it close in the first half as Trevion was forced to sit on the bench with two fouls…and even though Gillis and Newman had been the most-consistent Freshman this season, they were mostly silent tonight as they combined for just one rebound and no points in a COMBINED 32 minutes of play. But these Boilers keep fighting.
I said it after the MSU game- that win was only as good as what Purdue did with it from that point forward. Well, what have they done? That was the first of four-straight so far. Since fighting back to beat MSU, this Purdue team has kept fighting…even when shots aren’t falling and guys get into foul trouble, they don’t quit.
This, my pals, is an easy team to enjoy.
Following the 67-65 win, I hosted a Live Video wrap-up:
