Four Buckeyes scored in double figures as No. 23 Ohio State downed Michigan State 80-69 Thursday.
Ohio State (19-9, 12-7 Big Ten) shook off two-consecutive losses to get back on track against Michigan State (19-11, 10-9 Big Ten). The quartet of guards graduate Jamari Wheeler and freshman Malaki Branham, junior forward E.J. Liddell and graduate center Joey Brunk each scored 16 or more points in the win.
The Buckeyes’ foursome of scorers helped pace the offense to 55 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range. Branham, Brunk, Liddell and Wheeler accounted for 96.3 percent of Ohio State’s scoring output.
Brunk and Branham paced the Buckeyes during the early stages of the second half, each producing six points across the first 10 minutes of the frame.
Branham scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and capped off his late surge with a thundering dunk on the head of senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr.
The Buckeyes opened the game on a 16-2 run, keyed by a quick eight points from Liddell — who drilled a pair of 3s in the contest’s first 2:15. But, the Spartans quickly cut into Ohio State’s early lead, making it a 27-25 game with 8:11 remaining in the half.
While the Spartans stemmed the tide of Ohio State’s early run, the Buckeyes’ offense remained effective — especially behind the 3-point line. The Buckeyes shot 8-for-13 from 3-point range in the opening half, as Wheeler drilled four first-half 3-pointers. Ohio State finished the game 9-for-20 from distance.
Wheeler finished the night with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
While Wheeler hit the deep ball at a high rate, Brunk manned the paint, dropping 10 first-half points on 4-for-5 shooting. Brunk was the unsung hero for the Buckeyes Thursday, finishing the night with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting while adding six rebounds.
Brunk’s efforts helped the Buckeyes stake out an 36-18 advantage in the paint.
As the Buckeyes’ starters were red hot for the entire contest, Michigan State’s reserves helped keep the Spartans in striking distance. The Spartan bench outscored Ohio State’s 18-0 in the opening frame and that advantage ballooned to 36-3 by game’s end.
Leading the Spartans’ reserves was Bingham, who dropped 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
While Bingham led Michigan State’s bench, senior forward Gabe Brown produced a team-high 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting.
Ohio State took advantage of Spartan giveaways as it collected 20 points off of 13 Michigan State turnovers.
Although Wheeler and Brunk produced surprising offensive outputs, Liddell put up a strong outing as well. Liddell dropped 19 points and corralled eight rebounds.
The Buckeyes conclude the regular season Sunday against bitter rival Michigan at the Schottenstein Center with tipoff set for 12:30 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox.
