Graduate guard Sean McNeil (4) looks to pass the ball during the Ohio State-Maine game Wednesday. Ohio State won 95-61. Credit: Jacob Benge | Sports Editor
After an 89-84 loss to North Carolina Saturday, the Ohio State men’s basketball team hosts Maine Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Big Ten Network will broadcast.
The Lantern will bring you live updates.
Postgame: Head coach Chris Holtman, freshmen center Felix Okpara and forward Brice Sensabaugh speak on win against Maine
Chris Holtmann
On navigating this point in the college basketball season where upsets take place and teams prepare to ramp up conference play:
“The upsets in a way really help you because they grab the attention of your team in a way that is specific and really relevant because they know the teams for the most part that perhaps have gotten upset between last night and today, and it just grabs the attention of your group. So, I think that in a lot of ways, you don’t want your team to play in fear, but you do want there to be an awareness of it really does come down to how you play on a given night, and that’s important for young kids to remember.”
On Holtmann’s thoughts and feelings about the Buckeyes after 11 games into the season:
“It’s always a hard thing to evaluate,” Holtmann said. “Jay Wright on Saturday or Friday when we practiced, he said, ‘Man, you guys are ahead of schedule, aren’t you?’ And I said, ‘I think it’s so hard to see in the moment.’ I think we’ve done some good things, but there’s just a lot of areas where I feel like we’ve got to continue to grow. And I think he’s making that observation just knowing some of kind of the new pieces we’ve had. But I think it’s such a fluid thing. I just want to see us continue to get better. Certainly pleased with some of our performances and then as coaches and players things we look at where we can get better in.”
Felix Okpara
On his role and adjusting to the level of play in the Big Ten Conference:
“I’ve kind of embraced my role on the team, so things are becoming way more easier for me,” Okpara said. “I know I’m coming off the bench. I got to come with great energy, and I got to provide, crash the board and play defense.”
Brice Sensabaugh
On turning focus toward playing Maine after the Tar Heels and before Big Ten play ramps up:
“I don’t think it was difficult at all,” Sensabaugh said. “Obviously, we had a tough loss last game, a game that went down to the wire, so just the feeling we got from that game and the emphasis that coach put on moving forward and going into the break with the right mentality, and we shouldn’t be packed up before the game and ready to go home before a win. So, just make sure we win the game and do the right things and handle business.”
On what he and the Buckeyes learned from playing against North Carolina in an arena like Madison Square Garden last Saturday:
“A lot of people stressed to us and mentioned that it was kind of like an NCAA Tournament environment and obviously in a pretty prestigious arena, so I think it was a lot of fun,” Sensabaugh said. “Obviously a tough loss, but I think there was a lot of good things and bad things to take from it. When you lose, you don’t do everything wrong, and when you win you don’t do everything right. So, you just got to take them things you did right and build on those and whatever you did wrong and just learn from it.”
Final – Ohio State 95, Maine 61
Ohio State returned to the win column and closed the game shooting 69 percent in the second half.
Sensabaugh’s 19 matched the game high, and four of the Buckeyes’ five starters reached double digits in the scoring column. The Buckeye freshmen combined for 52 of the team’s 95 points, and freshman guard Bowen Hardman connected on his first two career 3-pointers.
The Buckeyes shot a season-best 61.2 percent from the field and didn’t need to rely on the 3-ball. They scored 64 points in the paint — three more than Maine’s entire score.
Tynes led the Black Bears with 19 points and Juozapaitis had 16. They shot 39 percent.
– Jacob Benge, Sports Editor
2nd Half 3:15 – Ohio State 85, Maine 54
Ohio State captured its largest lead of the game 85-52, and it’s cruising during a 12-0 run across almost four minutes.
Sensabaugh’s latest 3-pointer matches his career high of three, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down after joining the starting rotation in Likekele’s absence.
The Florida native leads all scorers with 19 points and has seven assists and rebounds apiece.
Okpara has also matched his career high at 10 points. All around, the Buckeyes have seen fluidity, and three of their true freshmen are in double figures.
Redshirt freshman forward Kalen Etzler made his sixth in-game appearance of the season.
– Jacob Benge, Sports Editor
2nd Half 6:57 – Ohio State 76, Maine 52
The Buckeyes are closing in on their eighth win of the season, and the crowd seems to notice that as the Schottenstein Center begins to thin out. An “O-H-I-O” chant circled the arena.
Maine is shooting a much improved 57.9 percent in the second half, but it has been unable to cut the deficit under 20 thus far. Ohio State has a season-high 52 points in the paint, while Maine has scored 52 for the game.
– Steven Kishpaugh, Assistant Sports Editor
2nd Half 14:34 – Ohio State 60, Maine 36
Another strong defensive performance has Ohio State looking for the magic number, as the Buckeyes are 6-0 when holding their opponents to under 60 points.
Sensabaugh is quietly having the best all-around game of his career. The freshman has 14 points to go along with five rebounds and already a career-high four assists.
Both teams are having a quiet night from 3-point range, with the Buckeyes shooting 30.8 percent and the Black Bears shooting at a 23.5-percent clip.
– Steven Kishpaugh, Assistant Sports Editor
Halftime – Ohio State 47, Maine 26
Potentially due to the later start time, the Value City Arena crowd is quieter than normal. Despite that, the Buckeyes put forth their best first half offensive performance of the season.
Ohio State is going eight players deep, with each player who saw playing time scoring from the field. Notably, 24 points were scored by freshmen in the first half, highlighted by freshman center Felix Okpara’s eight points in seven minutes.
Key came into this game leading the Big Ten shooting almost 66 percent from the floor on the season. He is shooting at an 80-percent clip on five attempts Wednesday.
The referees also went easy on the whistle, with Ohio State called for only two personal fouls in the half. Maine did not shoot any free throws during the period.
The Buckeyes’ 47 points are the most they have scored in a first half this season.
Ohio State is 4-0 wearing its home white jerseys and look to be on its way to 5-0 in the uniforms.
– Steven Kishpaugh, Assistant Sports Editor
1st half 1:39 – Ohio State 43, Maine 26
The Buckeyes have scored 32 of their 43 points in the paint. They’re controlling the game down low.
With a 3-pointer made with 2:51 left in the half, graduate guard Sean McNeil has now scored 1,000 career collegiate points.
Sensabaugh and redshirt senior forward Justice Sueing have also thrown down some thunderous dunks.
The duo are benefitting from Ohio State’s 22-13 rebounding advantage, including eight rebounds off the offensive glass.
It’d be difficult to tell, but both teams faced scoring droughts for 2 1/2 minutes. Maine needed the first 16:06 to force the Buckeyes to turn the ball over, and Ohio State has 22 points combined across its second chance opportunities and takeaways.
1st half 11:43 – Ohio State 24, Maine 15
Key is in double-figures early, scoring 10 points in the first seven minutes. Fifth-year guard Gedi Juozapaitis is keeping Maine competitive with eight points. He and Tynes are Maine’s two leading scorers on the season and have contributed 12 of the Black Bears’ 15 points.
Sensabaugh has scored five early points for the Buckeyes with a made 3-pointer. Coming into the game, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week averaged 47.6 percent from 3-point range.
– Steven Kishpaugh, Assistant Sports Editor
1st half 15:49 – Ohio State 12, Maine 6
Freshman guard Bruce Thornton opened the game with a 3-pointer.
Ohio State hasn’t had the hottest of starts, as Maine took its first lead after Black Bears senior guard Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish answered junior forward Zed Key’s 3-point attempt with a bucket of his own to lead 6-5.
Key put together a five-point run on the Buckeyes’ next two possessions as part of a larger 7-0 streak to put Ohio State back ahead.
Freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh also remained in the starting lineup for the third-straight game. He scored a career-high 22 points against North Carolina.
Stay tuned with The Lantern to learn more as it happens.
– Jacob Benge, Sports Editor
Pregame
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio State has taken the court for pregame warmups.
Junior guard Eugene Brown III is taking part in shootaround. He’s yet to play this season as he’s gone through concussion protocol, and head coach Chris Holtmann said Monday that Brown could join the Buckeyes’ rotation soon.
Graduate guard Isaac Likekele returned to the team Saturday but didn’t play against the Tar Heels. He missed the game against Rutgers Dec. 8 as he tended to a family matter in Texas.
Maine has three scorers averaging double figures, and sophomore guard Kellen Tynes, who stands 6-foot-4, will present an interesting matchup behind his average of 14.6 points per game. He’s reached double figures in nine of 11 games this season.
It’s $1 hot dog night at the Schottenstein Center, which will be the site of the next two Buckeyes games.
Stay tuned with The Lantern to learn more as it happens.
-Jacob Benge, Sports Editor
