Freshman guard D’Angelo Russell (0) dribbles the ball during a game against Colgate on Dec. 6 at the Schottenstein Center. OSU won, 70-50.
Credit: Ed Momot / For The Lantern
The Ohio State men’s basketball team bounced back to beat Colgate (N.Y.) on Saturday afternoon after losing its first game of the season against No. 5 Louisville on Tuesday.
The No. 14 Buckeyes (6-1) outscored Colgate (1-7) by 10 in each half on their way to a 70-50 win.
Colgate hung with OSU for portions of the matchup, but the Buckeyes pulled away late. Redshirt-freshman guard Kam Williams said that the Buckeyes needed to relax in order to finally pull away.
“We just needed to calm down honestly,” Williams said. “We weren’t playing like our game and coach (Thad) Matta said after the timeout that we just needed to calm down and relax and get the flow for the game.”
OSU got the first half started with a 10-0 run but the Raiders responded by scoring five unanswered points. Colgate cut the OSU lead down to three after going on an 8-6 run with about 10 minutes remaining in the half. The Buckeyes gained the upper hand though, going on a 15-8 run to close out the half.
Both teams struggled from the field as OSU shot 35.5 percent while holding the Raiders to 29.6 percent in the half. Free throws helped the Buckeyes extend their lead as they went 5-6 from the line. Sophomore forward Marc Loving led all scorers in the first half with 12 points as OSU took a 31-21 lead into halftime.
The deficit stayed relatively the same as both OSU and Colgate traded scores for the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Buckeyes managed to hold on to a 52-38 lead with about 10 minutes remaining in the game.
OSU continued to stretch the lead after a four-point play by Williams gave OSU a 66-46 advantage with about five minutes to play on its way to a 20-point win.
Freshman guard D’Angelo Russell led all scorers in the game as he scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half to go along with four rebounds, four assists and two steals. The Buckeyes shot 46.6 percent from the field in the game while holding the Raiders to 33.3 percent.
Loving totaled 17 points while Williams had 11 points for OSU off the bench.
Senior center Ethan Jacobs led Colgate with 18 points and five rebounds.
Loving said it was important for the Buckeyes to go on a run in the second half to keep Colgate at a safe distance.
“You can’t give teams like Colgate opportunity to linger around because then you’ll be in a dogfight,” Loving said. “We knew we had to go on a run eventually and we ended up pushing our lead to 20 points and finished the game out.”
Williams finished the game with 11 points and three rebounds in 20 minutes of play. OSU assistant coach Jeff Boals commended Williams for his effort in playing for his teammates.
“This is probably one of the closest groups in my six years,” Boals said. “They all care about each other, they cheer for each other, and it’s a situation tonight where Kam Williams came in and did a great job.”
The Buckeyes are scheduled to face High Point (N.C.) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Schottenstein Center.
