Camden Heide's High Energy, Big Plays Fuels Purdue Past USC in Big Ten Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS — Desmond Claude's midrange game had been lethal all night. With 22 seconds left in the game and Purdue leading 73-71, the junior attempted a floater to tie the game. When the shot clanked off the rim, Camden Heide flew in to collect the critical rebound.

Eventually, Purdue was able to ice away the game at the free throw line and defeated USC 76-71 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. That play that Heide made — one of the most important of the game — was a microcosm of his performance in Indianapolis Thursday night.

Let's call it like it is: Purdue's energy in the first half was lacking. A night after USC had played Rutgers in a double-overtime game, it was the Boilermakers — not the Trojans — that lacked fire. At one point, USC built a 10-point advantage, leading 28-18.

At the 6:59 mark, Heide knocked down a three-pointer to cut into that deficit. Just 90 seconds later, he hit another shot from behind the arc to close the gap to just two points.

Heide's third basket didn't come until the 11:28 mark of the second half — cutting a 56-52 USC lead down to just one point. It would be the last time he'd score in the game but he wasn't done making an impact.

In the final 6:16 of the game, Heide grabbed six rebounds, four defensive and two offensive. He closed out the night with nine points and 11 rebounds. Every single one of those points and boards mattered.

"Once we got down 10, we picked it up from there, and he was a big part of that," coach Matt Painter said of Heide's play Thursday. "He was getting 50-50 balls, he was getting tap-backs. We had a play where he got a tap-back, and he kept it alive and had a wide open shot and we end up missing it. But we were getting extra possessions. At the end of the day, that's what you want. You got to win the possession war."

Heide has endured a roller coaster year of sorts this season. For a period of time, the shots weren't falling and he seemed to struggle with his confidence. But in the past few games, the sophomore has provided a big spark off the bench for Purdue.

Heide has found ways to become a major contributor for the Boilermakers, regardless of if the shots are going through the basket or not.

"Anytime with my kind of role when you can get involved in the game, whether that's getting a steal, getting a rebound, making the hustle play, obviously we have two of the best players in the country, and they normally score a majority of the points, and they should," Heide said.

"For someone like me to be able to make a play like a rebound, something that a few people might view as a simple play, but it kind of helps me get engaged in the game, especially a few trips up and down the floor."

The plays from Heide were anything but simple, and they went a long way in helping the Boilermakers advance to the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament.

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