The Ohio State Men’s Basketball team huddles up mid game during the Ohio State-Michigan State game Jan 31. Ohio State won 79-62. Credit: Christian Harsa | Asst. Photo Editor
Following a barrage of threes and haymakers from a pair of high-powered offenses, the dust settled in Carver-Hawkeye Arena with the Buckeyes victorious.
No. 7 Ohio State (15-4, 9-4) and No. 8 Iowa (13-5, 7-4) combined for 28 threes Thursday in a game that included 18 lead changes. Trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half, the Buckeyes overcame the deficit to down the Hawkeyes 89-85.
“It was a fun game to be a part of — not as much when we were down 11 — but we have an incredibly resilient bunch, as much as any group I’ve ever coached, so I give our players a lot of credit,” head coach Chris Holtmann said.
With the game hanging in the balance, junior forward Justin Ahrens hit three threes in the final five minutes of the game. Ahrens finished the game with 9 points on 3-of-8 shooting from beyond the 3-point line.
“He came in really confident, he came in hunting shots,” Holtmann said. “He just came in and it was great to see.”
Ahrens’ success from three was a microcosm of Thursday’s contest, as both teams were dialed in from beyond the arc. Ohio State connected on 14-of-32 three-point attempts, while the Hawkeyes also shot 14-of-32 from three.
Hitting half of its 14 first-half attempts, Iowa’s early success from deep came from the duo of redshirt sophomore forward Jack Nunge and redshirt senior guard Jordan Bohannon — who shot a combined 6-of-8 from three in the first 20 minutes.
Iowa junior guard Joe Wieskamp was a steady hand from distance throughout Thursday’s contest — finishing with 17 points on 4-of-8 from distance.
While Iowa’s sharpshooters attacked from outside, senior center Luka Garza was deadly from inside the arc — finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds.
The Buckeyes also received steady production from beyond the arc from a pair of shooters.
Ohio State redshirt junior forward Justice Sueing connected on 2 of his 3 three-point attempts, while junior guard Duane Washington Jr. added a 3-of-9 performance from deep.
Washington broke a three-game coldspell in which he went 5-of-30 from the field and never scored in double figures.
“I’ve been in the gym, in the gym, in the gym, never satisfied — especially not these past three games,” Washington said. “At the end of the day, I want to win, so I’ll go O-for-whatever in the next however many games if we come out with the W.”
The Buckeyes were also lifted by the versatile frontcourt of senior forward Kyle Young and sophomore forward E.J. Liddell.
Liddell produced 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
Young, who played in his 100th career game, added 16 points and 6 rebounds.
An unexpected spark came from freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr., who delivered a pair of threes within a 90 second stretch in the first half.
Entering the game with 11 total points in his career, Johnson finished with 6 points on 2-of-3 shooting.
“He really stemmed the tide for us a little bit when we were on our heels a little bit there at the end of the first half by just making a couple shots and then providing some defensive activity,” Holtmann said.
While Johnson provided a youthful lift off the bench, redshirt senior guard CJ Walker utilized his ability to distribute the ball. Walker finished the game with 9 assists.
Joining the bench effort was freshman forward Zed Key, who provided the Buckeyes with an efficient 8 points — hitting 3-of-3 shots. Key also added seven rebounds to his performance.
Ohio State won the rebound advantage 42-36.
The Buckeyes will play the second half of their road stretch with a Monday game against Maryland. The 9 p.m. tipoff is set to be aired on FS1.
This story was updated at 10:22 p.m. Thursday with quotes from Chris Holtmann and Duane Washington Jr.
