Trailing by 12 points at halftime, Indiana trudged to the locker room to a smattering of boos from a restless Assembly Hall crowd.
The home fans had been waiting—yearning—for a reason to erupt. In the second half, the Hoosiers gave them exactly that.
Led by three Indiana natives—who grew up immersed in the fierce Indiana-Purdue rivalry and weren’t about to let their final battle against Purdue end in disappointment—those boos transformed into an unrelenting roar as Indiana stormed back behind its best 20 minutes of the season.
"It was the seniors who carried us tonight," head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. "They refused to lose."
Trey Galloway. Anthony Leal. Luke Goode. Three seniors. Three Indiana natives. Three Hoosiers in every sense of the word. On Sunday afternoon, they played the half of their lives, leading Indiana to a 73-58 statement victory over No. 13 Purdue in Bloomington.
Down 37-25 at the break, the Hoosiers stormed into the second half like a team possessed, unleashing a 28-3 run that flipped the game on its head. The spark? That trio of Indiana kids.
"You expect that from seniors," Woodson said. "I wouldn’t expect anything less."
After redshirt sophomore Myles Rice hit a 3-pointer to open the second half, Galloway and Leal followed with back-to-back transition buckets off Purdue turnovers—part of eight straight points from the Hoosiers’ trio of Indiana natives.
Just 78 seconds into the half, the deficit was down to five, and Assembly Hall—once hesitant—was reenergized.
At the 14:39 mark, Goode muscled through contact for an and-one, giving Indiana its first lead since the opening minutes. The Fort Wayne native let out a roar, fists clenched, as the crowd swayed in a deafening frenzy.
Then came Malik Reneau—not an Indiana native but a three-year Hoosier. At the 13:08 mark, he bullied his way to the rim for another and-one.
As he stepped to the free-throw line, Woodson and assistant coach Yasir Rosemond exchanged a quiet fist bump on the sideline. In just under seven minutes, a 12-point deficit had turned into an eight-point lead.
If Goode and Reneau set the tone, it was Galloway and Leal who slammed the door shut on Sunday afternoon.
Leal, a Bloomington native, didn’t light up the box score, but he didn’t have to. He finished with eight points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
More importantly, he was the defensive engine, spending most of the afternoon shadowing Purdue’s All-American guard—and fellow Indiana native—Braden Smith. Smith, typically the heartbeat of the Boilermakers, looked frazzled, finishing with just eight points on 2-of-8 shooting and an uncharacteristic six turnovers.
Then there was Galloway. The Culver, Indiana, product has spent five seasons as a Hoosier. He has lived and breathed the Indiana-Purdue rivalry his entire life. He knows what it takes. In his final game against the Boilermakers, he delivered.
Galloway posted 15 points, nine assists and four rebounds. He played 38 minutes, including all 20 in the second half.
"I grew up around the rivalry, and it’s an important game," Galloway said. "It means so much to the state of Indiana. Everybody from Indiana knows about the rivalry, and it’s a blessing to be a part of it. It’s special."
And when Indiana needed the dagger, Galloway hammered home the final nail in Purdue's coffin.
With 2:18 to play and the Hoosiers leading by 11, he found himself open at the top of the key. He let it fly, sinking the 3-pointer and pushing Indiana’s lead to 69-55. As Assembly Hall exploded, Purdue was finished.
"It was tremendous," Woodson said of the performance from his trio of Indiana kids. "They are seniors. This is their last go. They won’t get another shot at Purdue unless it’s in tournament play."
That’s what made it special. Indiana didn’t just beat Purdue on Sunday. The Hoosiers’ Indiana kids beat the Boilermakers.
Even Woodson, who played at Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis before a four-year career at Indiana under Bob Knight, felt the weight of it. After all, Woodson is an Indiana kid himself.
"It’s always special when you beat Purdue," he said.
As the final buzzer sounded and the Hoosiers celebrated, it wasn’t just any celebration. In what was his final Indiana-Purdue game before stepping down at season’s end, Woodson was at the center of it all.
As Woodson spoke to CBS’ Steve Lappas postgame, his team swarmed him, wrapping their arms around their coach, reveling in the moment.
"It was special," Woodson said. "Any time your players rally around you—because I do love them, and I’m sure they love me as well."
Galloway smiled when asked about it.
"I thought it was great," Galloway said. "We’re a family, and we’ve been a family since we all got together in June. Through highs and lows, you’ve got to find ways to stick together."
On Sunday, against their archrival, the Hoosiers stuck together. And on a day when it mattered most, the Hoosiers' Indiana kids proved that Assembly Hall still belonged to them.
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