Fifth-year forward Jamison Battle (10) works around a Rutgers defender in Ohio State’s 76-72 win at Value City Arena Wednesday. He had 22 points and shot 6-for-9 from three. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
Big Ten basketball is back — for real.
In true fashion, Rutgers (8-5, 0-2 Big Ten) came to Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center Wednesday for a battle with the Buckeyes (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) and it was a close-call fourth quarter before Ohio State barely broke away 76-72.
The Buckeyes led by as many as 17 with 4:14 remaining in the first half. Then, with only 15 seconds left in the game, Rutgers tightened the ballgame up and put itself within two.
No timeouts. Twelve seconds on the clock. Sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. was sent to the line for two — made both — and the Buckeyes were able to hang on.
What started as a back-and-forth meeting quickly turned into a Buckeye domination — and it began with Jamison Battle’s 17 first-half points.
The first 3-of-4 Ohio State possessions turned into threes by the fifth-year forward, who leads the Big Ten in 3-point shooting. He went 6-of-9 on the night from three and overall, the Buckeyes are third in the conference from field-goal range.
A duo of Rutgers guards, sophomore Derek Simpson and fifth-year Noah Fernandes, put up a fight for eight minutes in the first half. The two traded baskets until the Scarlet Knights trailed by a single point. Their freshman guard Gavin Griffiths then shot a three with 11:38 remaining in the first period to take the lead, 20-19.
When things started to get manageable, Ohio State freshman guard Scotty Middleton hit his first three in 16 attempts to regain the lead and eventually, it went up 41-24 before Rutgers began tightening it up. The half ended with a sophomore guard Bruce Thornton jumper and had the Buckeyes up 45-32.
After the break, the Scarlet Knights’ defense came out strutting, keeping Thornton to 3-for-8 shooting, and together, the Buckeyes to 2-of-9 from 3-point range after managing a stellar 9-of-15 in the first period.
Once the five-minute mark came around, things got serious. Though Rutgers had slowly been chipping away at the Buckeye lead, with 4:37 remaining in the second half it made it a two-score game, 67-62.
With 3:28 left in the contest, Scarlet Knights graduate guard Austin Williams chased down and blocked Thornton. The Scarlet Knights capitalized on the block with 2 points to bring them within a couple of Ohio State’s score of 67.
After the two made back-to-back 3-pointers, Rutgers had no choice but to foul and regain possession. Thornton and Gayle each made both of their free-throw opportunities to put the game away for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State will travel to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, to take on the Hoosiers Saturday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., and will be broadcast on FOX.
