Tanner Holden made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give No. 25 Ohio State Men's Basketball a 67-66 win over Rutgers on Thursday night at Value City Arena in Columbus.
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The Buckeyes (7-2, 1-0 Big Ten) corralled a loose ball and called a timeout with 23 seconds to go. With a chance to take a lead, Rutgers' Cilff Omoruyi got a weakside block. Paul Mulcahy then made a pair of free throws on the other end.
Rutgers fouled Ohio State to prevent a chance at a 3-point shot with five seconds to go. After inbounding the ball, Caleb McConnell sank two free throws to make it 66-64.
Holden, who hadn't scored yet in the game, made a deep triple from the right side that just beat the clock.
Rutgers (6-3, 1-1) has yet to win at Ohio State.
Down by two, Rutgers' Aundre Hyatt made a layup after his initial attempt was blocked to tie the game at 59-59. Mulcahy then got into the lane and made another layup to put Rutgers ahead 61-59.
Zed Key, who had a career night, knotted the score once again for Ohio State, but Cam Spencer hit a turnaround jump shot to make it 63-61 RU. Spencer, who is near the tops in steals per game in the country, notched one to give Rutgers the ball back.
The Scarlet Knights got out to a good start to begin the game. Three 3-pointers from Hyatt, Mawot Mag, and Spencer gave them an 11-5 lead. Ohio State, though, responded with a 14-0 run including six points from Key to give the home team a 19-11 advantage.
Ohio State would take its largest lead of 11 points at 31-20, but Rutgers didn't go away. Paul Mulcahy ignited a 9-0 to end the half with a 3-pointer. Caleb McConnell, Antwone Woolfolk, and Hyatt each made layups to cut it to 31-29 at the break.
The Scarlet Knights held Ohio State without a point in the last 4:06 of the opening half. Nonetheless, the Buckeyes led for 15:14 of the first 20 minutes.
Omoruyi ended up with 16 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks, Hyatt had 13 points, and Mulcahy finished with nine with three steals. Mag had six rebounds and four assists.
Key stats:
Offensive rebounding -- Like what Rutgers did to Indiana, Ohio state attacked the glass outrebounded Rutgers including on the offensive end. Ohio State tallied 19 rebounds (nine offensive) compared to Rutgers' 12/two.
3-pointers -- The Scarlet Knights shot the ball well in the opening half (12-of-24) and made 5-of-12 shots from behind the arc. However, Rutgers finished 5-of-17 from behind the arc.
Points in the paint/second chance points -- A big reason why Ohio State led at halftime was its rebounds turned into six second chance points. Rutgers had zero. OSU also had 18 points in the paint to Rutgers' 12. But, Rutgers turned things around and wound up outscoring the Buckeyes in the paint, 38-28.
Rutgers player of the game: G Cam Spencer
Spencer must have not liked sitting on the bench for a long time this past weekend. Spencer scored nine points in the first half on 4-of-4 shooting and finished with XX points. He finished with 11 points, five assists, and two steals.
RHoops play of the Day: C Cliff Omoruyi throws down an alley-oop to start the second half
Up next: The Scarlet Knights return home to face in-state rival Seton Hall in the Garden State Hardwood Classic on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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