Last season, one of the knocks on the Ohio State Basketball team was its inability to finish games and it got tested again Saturday night in a game against West Virginia that went to overtime. Unlike last year though, this Buckeye team seems to have the ability to make plays to pull out close ones more often and survived 78-75.
To be fair, OSU let the Mountaineers hang around and struggled to put it away when it had chances, but still did enough to put one in the winning ledger.
Ohio State controlled most of the game, and even went up by 14 points in the first half before West Virginia switched to a zone on defense and ended the first half on 18-6 run to cut the lead to 28-26 at halftime.
OSU began the second half on a mini run and held a modest lead throughout until West Virginia drove down the lane and got a layup on a nice assist to tie the score at 65. Ohio State would get the last possession of regulation but failed to execute and Roddy Gayle Jr. had to throw up a desperation fade away that fell short as time expired to send it to overtime.
In extra time, Jamison Battle got things off on the right foot with a three-point basket to set the tone. OSU led the entire overtime but West Virginia wouldn’t go away. Bruce Thornton was huge at the end, at one point hitting a reverse layup and then a three-point basket before forcing a turnover and foul.
Still, the Buckeyes missed some free throws, even through a technical foul opportunity at the line and allowed West Virginia a chance. But, OSU held and walked away with the win somehow, someway — and probably undeserved.
Leaving Cleveland with an OT dub!#Team125 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Wv11w3Fy4m
— Ohio State Hoops 🌰 (@OhioStateHoops) December 31, 2023
Gayle led Ohio State with 32 points. He made 11-of-21 field goals, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. He also had seven rebounds and six assists. Jamison Battle was big in the second half with four three-pointers enroute to 17 points for the game. Guard Bruce Thornton didn’t have the type of game we’ve been accustomed to seeing from him, but he finished in double figures with 11 points and chipped in seven rebounds, and four assists.
With the win, Ohio State runs its record to 11-2 and will step into Big Ten play when it hosts Rutgers next Wednesday.
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