INDIANAPOLIS – It was a great start to the Ohio State striker’s 87-78 victory on Friday in overtime against Purdue Kyle Young. The game did not end well for Young individually.
The senior, who averages 8.3 points per game this year, scored 18 points, drawing the high point of his career in 10 shots against the Boilermakers. All 18 points came in the first half, as Young played just four minutes in the second half after suffering an apparent head injury.
Young started the game by scoring the first points with a jumper earlier, but it was his three-point shot that really gave the Buckeyes a good start against Purdue. An improved three-point shooter, up 36 percent this year after hitting 14 percent long distance in his first three seasons, Young hit three consecutive points, setting a new career high in three-point shooting before a quarter of a first half is over.
“He did a lot of good things for us in the first half,” Duane Washington said de Young after the victory. “I said that he is going to have to make some shots today, that’s what I told him. Before we entered the arena, I said to him, ‘Hey, put some for us today. I will be looking for you. ‘I tried to find him a few times and he put them on and they were fine. “
Listening to Washington’s advice, Young hit his fourth three-point basket in the middle of the corner with four seconds left to give Scarlet and Gray an 18-point lead on the counterattack. This came along with three rebounds, a steal and a series of his usual moves that do not appear on the statistics sheet.
“We needed that spark, that uplift,” continued Washington. “It brought us a lot of energy and we needed it. It was fantastic. I am very happy for him. “
The second half was not as good as for Young.
Less than three minutes into the break, Young elbowed Purdue in the side of the head forward Trevion Williams. Young was called to the foul, but took the worst of the blow, sitting on the court for several seconds before walking to the other end and standing with his hands on his knees while Williams executed his free throws.
Young remained in the game until the 15:38 mark. After leaving, he sat on the bench while Ohio State medical staff examined the veteran, eventually taking him behind the screen placed behind the seats at Lucas Oil Stadium, where they continued to look at him. The group returned to the bench shortly and Young sat with a towel on his head for a few minutes while continuing to talk to the coaches and the teammates came to see how he was doing. He was then escorted to the locker room and did not return.
Kyle Young going to the locker room pic.twitter.com/AXK00eHmsk
– Steve Helwagen (@SteveHelwagen) March 12, 2021
After the game, head coach Chris Holtmann said he did not know Young’s status for the Big Ten Tournament semifinal on Saturday against Michigan, but confirmed that he was being examined for a concussion. He also admitted that he probably should have taken Young out of the game faster.
“To be honest with you, I would like to look back and know the exact scenario now,” said Holtmann. “We took it out initially for the sake of caution. I think he said he wanted to play and gave us an indication that he was fine. Maybe looking back, I could pull it out and maybe I should have done it. But at that moment, I kind of looked and trusted what he said. “
Without Young, the Buckeyes struggled to hold on to the Boilermaker’s race and were defeated by 29-19 for the remainder of the regulation to force overtime. Scarlet and Gray went eight minutes without making a field goal and held on to overtime due to 10 field goals made after Young left the competition.
Despite the drop on the scoreboard for much of the second half, Ohio State players managed to find their final shot again in overtime. The task became more difficult when he advanced EJ Liddell failed with 2:25 to play in overtime, which means the Buckeyes had some very original lineups to get the win.
“Losing Kyle was great,” said Liddell after the game. “You have all seen the effect it has had and the impact. We got him and we got the W for him. I hope he’s all right. But how intense this game was, we both knew what was needed and that’s what Big Ten basketball is all about and we just came out on top. “
Advance Seth Towns made a three-point basket to give Scarlet and Gray a four-point lead in the extra period, then hit a jumper. Washington hit three and two major free throws before a robbery and shipowner’s tray CJ Walker froze the game.
Young’s absence against Michigan on Saturday would certainly be felt if the striker could not go. While he scored just five points and had four rebounds in the 92-87 loss to the Wolverines in late February, Young is one of the few big men Ohio State has to go against the center. Hunter Dickinson. In the only game Young lost this year, which he lost due to a concussion, the Buckeyes lost 71-67 to Michigan and Holtmann and the players talked after the game about what the senior could have provided.
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With that said, Scarlet and Gray found a way to do the job without Young in the second half and in extra time and may have to find that same fight, especially after the extra five minutes, in the semifinal.
“I found it a phenomenal response,” said Holtmann. “Our guys performed so well. Justice (Sueing) getting to the free throw line I thought it was crucial. And then, in overtime, the guys offensively played and Duane did some phenomenal readings. We actually performed a similar action for most of the overtime and Duane did some phenomenal readings. Listen, it was difficult without Kyle because he was unbelievable in the first half. “