WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue coach Gene Keady tried to warn his players that Ohio State was a desperate team with something to prove.
"It didn't soak in," Keady said.
Terence Dials dunked over Ivan Kartelo and converted the three-point play in the final minutes, leading Ohio State to a 65-59 upset of the 21st-ranked Boilermakers on Saturday.
David Teague had a chance to tie the game, but missed a wide-open jumper, and Tony Stockman made four free throws down the stretch to give Ohio State (10-10, 2-5 Big Ten) its first win in four games.
"Any win would have been good for us," said coach Jim O'Brien, whose Buckeyes had lost six of seven. "But a win on the road against one of the better teams in the conference is even more satisfying."
Stockman led the Buckeyes with 17 points, but it was Dials' dominance inside that was the difference. He overcame early foul trouble to be a major factor in the second half, grabbing timely rebounds and keeping Purdue out of the lane. Dials finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.
He and fellow post player Velimir Radinovic combined for 23 points and 14 rebounds, thoroughly outplaying Purdue's vaunted front.
The Boilermakers' Brett Buscher, Ivan Kartelo and Matt Kiefer managed just 11 points on 2-for-9 shooting and seven rebounds.
"We tried our best not to give them good position and limit their touches," Dials said.
Teague had a career-high 22 points and seven rebounds to lead Purdue, but the Boilermakers (14-6, 4-3) sorely missed leading scorer and top defender Kenneth Lowe, who was out with a sprained left elbow.
"We missed him a lot," Teague said. "Anytime you have a star taken out of your lineup, it's going to test you. We need guys to step up and make plays, unfortunately, we didn't do it."
Suddenly, Purdue has gone from being tied for first in the Big Ten to badly needing a win to right the ship.
"We can't trade players, so we're going to have to work with what we've got," Keady said. "I have faith in our players, we just have to go back to the drawing board."
Purdue trailed for the first 29 minutes, but Teague's fourth 3-pointer gave the Boilermakers their first lead, 43-42, with 11 minutes left.
Seven minutes later, Purdue took the momentum when Buscher stole a pass and fed Teague for a dunk that gave the Boilermakers a 56-52 lead with 4:30 to play.
But the Buckeyes refused to go away. Ricardo Billings hit a 3-pointer to bring Ohio State within one.
Teague answered with two free throws and the Buckeyes then went on a 7-0 run, including Dials' three-point play, to take the lead.
"Sometimes we get down on ourselves when teams make their runs on us," Stockman said. "That didn't happen."
It was the second straight tough loss for the Boilermakers, who fell to in-state rival Indiana on Tuesday. They shot 36 percent -- 27 percent in the second half -- against the Buckeyes, who made 51 percent of their shots to pull off the surprising road win.
"It seems we don't handle adversity very well," Keady said of Lowe's injury. "If that's going to happen to you your whole life, it's going to be a long life."
Ohio State took control early, opening the game with a 16-3 run. The Boilermakers had just one field goal -- a 3-pointer by Teague -- in the first 7:15.
"We didn't bring that intensity tonight," said Austin Parkinson, who had 10 points and seven assists. "They came out ready to play. I can't explain it."
Purdue's first five field goals were 3-pointers -- three by Teague and two by Melvin Buckley -- to get back in the game.
Buckley's second 3-pointer closed the gap to 18-15 midway through the half.
Ohio State came right back, answering every Purdue basket. J.J. Sullinger hit a jumper and Ivan Harris followed with a 3 to push the lead back to 31-20.
The win means the Buckeyes will have a nice trip home, even if it's on a bus on not on the team's usual charter flight.
"It would have been a long bus ride if we lost," Stockman said. "We used that as motivation."
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