For the second time in five days, Indiana had victory within its grasp.
For the second time, the Hoosiers let it slip away. And for the second time, Myles Rice was left to take the final shot in the closing seconds, sealing another gut-wrenching defeat.
Indiana fell 81-76 to No. 10 Purdue on Friday night at Mackey Arena, a loss that felt eerily similar to Sunday's collapse against Maryland. Indiana fought, scrapped and clawed its way into position for a win. But just like in their loss to the Terrapins, the Hoosiers couldn't finish.
"I thought the effort was there," guard Trey Galloway said postgame. "We have to finish. I think just making the right plays down the stretch is the difference."
With 29 seconds to play, Galloway slashed into the lane and floated in a push shot to put Indiana up 76-75. Purdue head coach Matt Painter immediately called timeout. It seemed obvious the ball would find either All-American point guard Braden Smith or leading scorer Trey Kaufman-Renn.
Kaufman-Renn had been dominant. He opened the second half with a personal 7-0 run, and when the game was on the line, the Boilermakers went right back to him. He caught the ball just inside the free-throw line, turned over his left shoulder and dropped a right-handed hook shot.
Purdue 77, Indiana 76. Eleven seconds left.
Indiana inbounded quickly to Rice, opting not to use its final timeout. The redshirt sophomore point guard, who played just five minutes in the second half, raced up the right side of the court. Just like in Indiana's loss to Maryland, his shot was off—this time blocked by Purdue's Gicarri Harris. Purdue grabbed the rebound, made its free throws and closed out the win.
"[Rice] limits himself by coming up the side of the court," Painter explained. "He didn’t get deep enough with that drive."
Indiana head coach Mike Woodson hinted at wanting a timeout but admitted the moment passed too quickly.
"Once [Rice] took off, I couldn’t get to [the official]," Woodson said. "It was too late. The official had already gone by."
Two games. Two late leads. Two missed opportunities.
"It's very frustrating because we're right there," Galloway said. "To know that we're that close to winning these close games is definitely frustrating for all of us."
The Hoosiers battled throughout the second half, led by Galloway's 13 second-half points. He torched Purdue, repeatedly getting downhill and finishing at the rim.
And yet, when the game was on the line, the ball wasn't in his hands.
"We were just fortunate there at the end that Trey Galloway didn’t have the ball," Painter admitted. "For us, our concern in that situation would’ve been Trey Galloway. That was who was torching us."
Instead, it was Rice. And once again, the Hoosiers fell short.
For Indiana, it was another night of heartbreak. Another game that could have been theirs. Another all-too-familiar collapse.
"It’s just about making plays down the stretch and securing the win," Woodson said. "We didn’t do it in the Maryland game, and tonight we had our chances."
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