Second-year guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (1) lays the ball off the backboard for two points. Ohio State defeated Central Michigan 88-61 at the Schottenstein Center Nov. 29. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
The 3-point shot is not necessary to win games, as Ohio State proved Saturday.
With 46 seconds remaining, Jamison Battle hit a three — the first from the Buckeyes all afternoon. They shot 1-for-15 from downtown to escape the 10th annual CBS Sports Classic with a 67-60 win over the UCLA Bruins at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The Buckeyes (9-2, 1-1 Big Ten) and Bruins (5-4, 0-0 PAC-12) traded baskets over 18 lead changes. It wasn’t until the 2:47 mark in the second half when the Buckeyes fully gained momentum — it took an alley-oop from sophomore guard Bruce Thornton to sophomore center Felix Okpara, which put them up by six, creating a spark.
However, the game got off to a slow-scoring start.
For the first eight minutes of the contest, Ohio State’s sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. and Okpara had its team up. UCLA’s redshirt-sophomore guard Will McClendon hit a jumper to tie the game at eight. For the remainder of the first half, the lead changed five times as the Bruins took their first lead with 5:16 on the clock.
Neither team’s lead lasted long. The Buckeyes led for just under 13 total minutes in the first, despite their 10 turnovers, five-minute scoring drought and their going 0-for-10 from three. Still, Ohio State trailed at the half, 23-22 — the lowest score it put up in one period this season.
Thornton, its leading scorer, averaging 18.5 points per game, had only two as he went 2-for-3 from the free-throw line with 1:12 remaining before the break. Ohio State’s Gayle, however, kept the scoring alive with 8 points.
The second half showed more of the same.
With 10:40 on the clock, Bruin sophomore guard Dylan Andrews’ free throw gave them their largest lead, 41-37. Two minutes later, Thornton grabbed the lead and UCLA never got it back.
Shortly after the Thornton to Okpara score, Okpara fouled out with 10 points, going 5-for-7 from the field. Battle solidified Ohio State’s lead and granted it a 7 percent 3-point percentage on the day after its first successful shot from downtown, giving it a 62-56 advantage with 46 seconds remaining.
The Bruins were not able to fire any clutch points and suffered their fourth loss of the season to a soon-to-be conference foe.
Ohio State will return to its home court Thursday at 6 p.m., to take on the New Orleans Privateers, streaming on Big Ten+.
