INDIANAPOLIS — Appropriately, the USC men’s basketball team battled until the end.
Having survived a double-overtime thriller against Rutgers the previous night, the Trojans led for a significant portion of their second-round Big Ten Tournament game on Thursday night but could not hold off Purdue in the final minute.
Trey Kaufman-Renn matched his career high with 30 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 28.3 seconds left, and Purdue scored the final five points to beat USC, 76-71, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“This is probably the most difficult game I’ve ever lost with a team, and I’ve been coaching a really, really long time,” USC coach Eric Musselman said. “That was tough for us. I thought our team did everything we could to put ourselves in position to win the game. I feel for the locker room. This group came here to try to win this tournament, and I thought we put ourselves in position tonight to play one more day tomorrow. … Just unfortunate that we couldn’t pull out a victory.”
Desmond Claude scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half for the Trojans (16-17), who defeated Rutgers on Wednesday night but didn’t look fatigued against Purdue (22-10). Wesley Yates III added 13 points and Matt Knowling and Rashau Agee added 11 points apiece.
The sixth-seeded Boilermakers trailed by 10 points in the first half, but they tied it by halftime and emerged from a back-and-forth second half thanks largely to Kaufman-Renn, who shot 12 for 20 from the field and 6 for 11 from the free-throw line.
After Kaufman-Renn’s free throws gave the Boilermakers a 73-71 advantage with 28.3 seconds left, Claude missed a short floater with 22 seconds left. Purdue got the rebound and Kaufman-Renn was fouled with 13.8 seconds remaining and split two free throws.
The 14th-seeded Trojans then were looking for a tying 3-pointer. Claude threw a pass toward Yates, who slipped and fell to the floor. Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith caught the ball for the Boilermakers, was fouled with 3.6 seconds left and made both free throws to clinch it.
USC used a 14-1 burst in the first half to grab a 28-18 lead and survived long stretches of both halves without Claude, who picked up two quick fouls in the first half and sat out for the final 13 minutes. Purdue’s Camden Heide drained two 3-pointers during a 10-0 burst to tie it with 4:23 remaining. The Boilermakers tied it again at 35-all on a Myles Colvin 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining.
Claude returned in the second half, only to draw two more quick fouls. Still, USC capped an 8-0 run with a Chibuzo Agbo 3-pointer to open a 52-46 lead less than five minutes into the half.
Agbo hit another 3-pointer to give the Trojans a 56-50 lead with 12:28 remaining before Purdue responded with a 9-2 run and took a 59-58 lead on Fletcher Loyer’s basket with 9:21 remaining.
Claude, who returned to the court with just over 10 minutes left, hit jumpers on three occasions to give USC a two-point edge. After the third time, Kaufman-Renn had two baskets around a one from Smith to give Purdue a 71-67 edge with 2:25 left.
Claude drove for a basket with 2:07 remaining and then swished a free-throw line jumper to tie it at 71-all with 54.5 seconds to play, setting up the late drama.
“I was ready. I stayed ready,” Claude said of his extended stretches off the court. “At least I had the half to be fresh for the second half. I don’t control what the refs call even if I don’t agree with it.”
Musselman praised his team, especially given the short turnaround between games.
“I think people need to recognize we played a double-overtime game last night, that we’re three hours difference from home on our body clocks, that we got back to our hotel and the first time we got to utter the words Purdue were about 1 a.m.,” Musselman said. “We had some walk-throughs today, and I thought they came out and followed the game plan as good as any group I’ve ever coached.
“Again, I thought we played well enough to win the game, even with foul trouble.”
Loyer scored 14 points and Smith had 12 points and nine assists for Purdue, which had lost five of its previous seven games. Camden Heide added nine points (3 for 3 from 3-point range) and 11 rebounds.
Purdue shot 47.3% from the field and 9 for 23 from 3-point range, while USC shot 43.5% overall but just 7 for 24 from behind the arc.
The Boilermakers advance to face third-seeded Michigan in Friday night’s quarterfinals. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, with each winning at home.
UP NEXT?
The Trojans again proved they have the athletic skill and length to match up with most teams and pushed Purdue despite all of their starters having played the bulk of the double-overtime game the night before. On talent alone, USC appears to be a candidate for an NIT bid.
More to come on this story.
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