Freshman guard Malaki Branham (22) dribbles down the lane during the first half of No. 7 Ohio State’s Round of 32 matchup against No. 2 Villanova Sunday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Ohio State lost 71-61. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor

As time ticked away between No. 7 Ohio State and No. 2 Villanova Sunday, the Buckeyes found themselves in need of a secret weapon.

The Buckeyes dwindled a 15-point deficit down to just two with 5:39 left. Graduate guard Jamari Wheeler drained a fast-break 3-pointer after junior forward E.J. Liddell knocked down a jumper to bring the score to 60-58.

Then, Ohio State made just one of its next seven field goal tries.

“I think we’ve been searching for that third or fourth guy. It’s really been Kyle (Young) a lot. It’s been other guys at times,” head coach Chris Holtmann said. “When we’ve struggled, we’ve missed that third or fourth and sometimes fifth option.”

Villanova closed the game on an 11-3 run to halt the Buckeyes at the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State outscored the Wildcats 33-32 in the second half, and Liddell and freshman guard Malaki Branham accounted for 20 points combined in both halves.

Branham and Liddell, Ohio State’s top-two leading scorers, produced nearly 66 percent of the Buckeyes’ offense against Villanova, connecting on 16 of the team’s 24 field goals.

Inconsistency and injuries plagued Ohio State from finding an additional scoring option throughout the season. Holtmann said Young, the 6-foot-8 forward whose six points were third among Buckeyes before he exited with 8:55 left Sunday, made a difference in games throughout his college career.

“Love Kyle. He represents everything we want,” Holtmann said. “He competes at the highest level. He’s a special, special kid and special player.”

The Buckeyes overcame a sluggish first half in which they shot 38.5 percent from the field and improved at the perimeter. After shooting a season-worst 1-of-15 from 3-point range against No. 10 Loyola Chicago Friday, Ohio State finished 7-of-22 from distance.

Despite Ohio State having the edge 35-31 in rebounds and 16-11 in second-chance points, Villanova beat the Buckeyes at the free-throw line. The Wildcats made 17 of their 20 attempts.

Ohio State also committed 12 turnovers — three more than Villanova. Liddell said the giveaways were where the Buckeyes needed to improve.

“Got to take care of the ball a little bit more. Credit to them. They played really hard,” Liddell said. “I thought we went out there, played hard, but we just got to take care of the ball a little bit more.”

Branham said he thought similarly about Ohio State’s offensive issues.

“Just take care of the ball more. We should’ve came out with more fight,” Branham said. “We got to come out more aggressive than they did.”

The Buckeyes never led against Villanova Sunday. They nearly completed a comeback bid that would’ve sent them to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

The Wildcats turned their 39-28 halftime lead into a 15-point lead early in the second half. Ohio State didn’t call timeout to try and halt Villanova’s momentum, and perhaps that worked as the Buckeyes outscored the Wildcats 18-16 from the under-12 timeout to the final buzzer.

To Holtmann, though, he said instead of timeouts he’ll spend time thinking about the final stretch of the game that ultimately finished the Buckeyes’ final contest of the season.

“I would’ve liked to save those for the last two or three minutes because I thought it was going to be a one- or a two-possession game. That was my thinking there,” Holtmann said. “We needed to be better in that stretch. That stretch was critical.”