In a game that resembled a prize fight, Ohio State was the final team standing in Mackey Arena

The Buckeyes’ late game 15-0 run was the final punch that put the Boilermakers on the mat for good.

To put it in boxing terms, the Ohio State men’s basketball team (11-8, 3-5) has been losing a lot of matches by split decision lately.

The Buckeyes’ losses to Oregon, Wisconsin, and Indiana all came down to the very final possession. Each time, that final possession went the other way, and each time Ohio State took a hard earned loss after nearly securing a victory. For the first time in program history, Ohio State has now played five consecutive one-possession games.

Even before that, against Michigan State, Ohio State fell behind by double-digits before coming back and briefly taking the lead. Unfortunately, the Spartans swung back and landed the final punch, going on a 10-5 run to turn a one-point deficit into a four-point lead in the final minutes.

As has happened several times this year, Michigan State began the game by knocking Ohio State to the ground with a jab to the ribs, but the Buckeyes got up, swung back, and kept in the fight. Unfortunately, Michigan State just happened to land the final punch, and the Buckeyes did not recover.

That looked to be the case again Tuesday night at Mackey Arena, until it wasn’t.

Purdue set the tone, taking a commanding 41-28 lead into the halftime break in front of a packed Mackey Arena that had not had students in attendance for over a month. The building was ready to pop open in the second half when the Boilermakers would inevitably, run away with the game — or so everyone thought.

But Ohio State, to its credit, did not roll over. The Buckeyes hit Purdue with a metaphorical sucker punch to the nose, going on a 17-2 run over the first 5:50 of the second half and pulling ahead 45-43 in the process.

A nervous energy consumed the sellout crowd of over 14,000. The “Boiler Up!” chants that were turned up to a 10 in the first half were tuned down to a more modest 4 or 5 with Ohio State now the aggressor.

But with Ohio State in the driver’s seat and nine minutes left to go, Purdue landed what most assumed was a fatal blow. Three consecutive Ohio State turnovers led to three consecutive Purdue baskets, the third of which was a corner three by freshman guard Gicarri Harris, who tied his season-high of eight points. Harris’ triple made it 59-53 Purdue, and Jake Diebler called timeout with the crowd booming “Let’s Go Boilers!” at a volume that made it difficult to even shout to the person sitting next to you.

To this point in the season, that punch would’ve put Ohio State on the mat for good. The Buckeyes had the 17-2 run to start the second half — that was their one big swing they had in them for the game. If it stands up, they win. If not, they lose.

This team hadn’t shown the ability to dig their feet into the sand, stop the bleeding, and flip things back in their favor a second time. Following the script of this season so far, Purdue’s 9-0 run should’ve ended the fight.

But on Tuesday night, Ohio State stood back up and went the distance. For the first time all season perhaps, the Buckeyes refused to let their opponent get the last word in.

Trailing 59-53 with 5:56 remaining, Ohio State put together the unlikeliest of all runs — a 15-0 spurt that put them back ahead by nine points with just under three minutes remaining in the game. Micah Parrish was the catalyst, knocking down a trio of three-pointers in just under three minutes to put the Boilermakers on the ropes.

Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“We just knew basketball is a game of runs,” Bruce Thornton, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists, said after the game.

“We knew good teams are going to make a run. We knew they were going to make a run. But we took the momentum and we just ran with it.”

With the referee down on the mat, tapping the ground and counting, Purdue stood back up before it got to 10. The ‘Boilers didn’t go quietly, getting back within one point in the waning seconds, but ultimately their final punch didn’t have the same amount of juice as Ohio State’s final punch, as the visitors claimed a well-earned 73-70 victory.

As the final horn sounded, Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. — who combined to score 25 points — waved to the Mackey Arena crowd as they made their way to the exits. For the first time in a long time, Ohio State was the team that had the final say, and threw the final punch. In doing so, they snapped Purdue’s 26-game home winning streak and won at Mackey Arena for the first time since 2018.

“I was most impressed with just — when they took the lead back, the back and forth. Like, I don’t know the exact time period, but that was the most impressive stretch to me,” Jake Diebler said after the game.

He went on: “Because that’s where we have struggled at times, we’ve been in some closer games at the end where we didn’t really have to be because of that kind of stretch.”

“We stood in the ring, went back and forth and we were left standing.”