After sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (1) was fouled in the second half, teammates Zed Key (23), Scotty Middleton (0), Jamison Battle (10) and Dale Bonner help him up off the ground. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
In their home away from home, the Buckeyes outlasted West Virginia (5-8, 0-0 Big 12) in overtime 78-75 Saturday in the Legends of Basketball Showcase at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
Sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. exploded for 32 points, setting a new career high and propelling the Buckeyes (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) to their 11th win of the season.
Gayle got Ohio State on the board first with a 3-pointer off a West Virginia turnover, followed by a fadeaway jump shot, scoring the first 5 points for the Buckeyes.
Less than two minutes into the game, Ohio State fifth-year forward Jamison Battle limped off the floor and into the locker room but returned with 13:28 left to play.
“I just kind of slipped and misplaced my foot,” Battle said. “It’s happened before so it’s a little scary, but I’m alright right now.”
With just under eight minutes to go in the first half, Gayle sank a jumper, giving the Buckeyes a 24-10 lead.
From that point forward, Ohio State missed its next 11 shots, allowing West Virginia to get right back in the game as it held onto a mere 28-26 lead.
Despite a sloppy first half in which the Buckeyes shot just 13% from three and only 27% from the field, Gayle’s 9 points and five rebounds kept Ohio State afloat heading into the locker room.
On the boards, the Buckeyes also dominated the Mountaineers with 12 offensive rebounds compared to West Virginia’s two.
Battle opened the second half, hitting two quick 3-pointers to extend Ohio State’s lead. Still, the Mountaineers hung around, never letting their deficit become too large. With less than a minute to go in regulation, Battle’s three rimmed in-and-out, giving West Virginia the ball down by only 2 points.
After a layup by the Mountaineers, the game was suddenly tied at 65 with 30 seconds to go, despite the Buckeyes leading for all but four minutes of regulation.
Coming out of an Ohio State timeout, the ball was inbounded to Gayle, who was forced to put up a tough contested shot at the buzzer that was no good.
“They played it perfectly,” Gayle said. “They denied Bruce’s [Thorton] catch and then we were all in kind of a scramble, then they just kind of matched up at the last minute which kind of threw us off a little bit. I feel like we got a shot on the rim and that’s pretty much all we can hope for.”
This called for overtime in Cleveland, where the home-state team won the jump ball to start the extra five minutes.
“We stressed getting the tip and just being really aggressive coming out of overtime,” head coach Chris Holtmann said. “I thought our guys were aggressive.”
It didn’t take long for Ohio State to regain its lead with Battle draining a 3-pointer to go up 68-65. After a second chance layup by West Virginia, Gayle continued the trend for the Buckeyes, sinking another three from deep.
Following yet another offensive rebound and put-back by West Virginia, sophomore guard Bruce Thornton, who struggled all night, provided the Buckeyes with some insurance at 2:42 on the overtime clock when he made only his seventh point of the night.
“Bruce is one of a kind,” Gayle said. “Obviously his shot wasn’t falling pretty much most of the game but he still had that mentality and that mindset to just keep shooting. I told him, just keep shooting, it’s going to fall, it’s going to fall.”
He did just that.
Thornton then converted on a big-time three with 2:11 to go, giving Ohio State a nice 76-71 lead. Ohio State traded buckets back and forth with West Virginia and ultimately outlasted the Mountaineers 78-75.
“I feel like we have to take that leadership and that connectivity we did during the last season at the end of the way and build it into what we have been so far this season,” Gayle said. “With Big Ten play coming up, I feel like we just have to stay connected and get ready for our next opponent.”
Ohio State will return home Wednesday and host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at 7 p.m. on Big Ten+.
