Graduate forward Jamison Battle (10) chasing down a loose ball in Ohio State’s matchup with Indiana Tuesday. The Hoosiers defeated the Buckeyes 76-73 at Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center to make it their fifth-straight loss. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
An 18-point second-half lead and home-court advantage wasn’t enough to keep the Buckeyes afloat.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (13-10, 3-9 Big Ten) crumbled down the stretch, falling by three points to the Indiana Hoosiers (14-9, 6-6 Big Ten) 76-73 Tuesday night at Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center despite a double-digit halftime lead, extending its losing streak to five.
“I just didn’t think we were aggressive enough really on either end,” head coach Chris Holtmann said.
It was back and forth between the Buckeyes and Hoosiers early on until sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. connected on a 3-pointer with 11:21 to go in the first half, igniting a Buckeye run.
During the next 4:30 of play, Ohio State outscored Indiana 16-3, giving itself a 29-16 lead.
The Buckeyes and Hoosiers would score 13 additional points apiece and Ohio State took a 42-29 lead into the half.
Ohio State was led by Gayle, who had 15 first-half points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field.
Out of the break, Indiana missed a layup, and sophomore forward Malik Reneau was assessed a technical foul after exchanging words with one of the referees.
Fifth-year forward Jamison Battle made both technical free throws, which was followed by a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Bruce Thornton, giving the Buckeyes a quick 5-0 run to start the half.
Following a made layup by Gayle at 17:39, Ohio State found itself leading 49-31.
It was all downhill from there.
Indiana rallied and cut the Buckeyes’ lead to single digits thanks to a quick 6-0 run with 13:38 remaining in the game.
From that point on, the Hoosiers continued to chip away at the Buckeye lead.
With 7:01 to go, Indiana cut its deficit to 65-55 behind two successful free throws from senior guard Trey Galloway, which ignited what would become a 10-0 Hoosier run.
Gayle said that as the Buckeye lead was slipping away, he was thinking about their loss against Penn State earlier this season, in which they blew an 18-point second-half lead as well.
“Those times kind of haunt you, where we gave up an 18-point lead, so you make it your duty not to relive that,” Gayle said. “So yeah, it’s kind of in the back of your head but just next play mentality and trying to make the next right play.”
Soon thereafter, following a layup from Indiana’s sophomore center Kel’el Ware, the Hoosiers put themselves ahead of Ohio State for the first time since the 15:24 mark of the first half.
With only 37 seconds left, Battle drew a foul and made two free throws, which pushed the Buckeyes’ lead up to two.
They needed one stop.
Instead, Hoosier senior guard Anthony Leal drained a go-ahead 3-pointer from the right corner, putting Indiana ahead by one.
After a turnover by the Buckeyes, a made free throw by Indiana and an unsuccessful 3-pointer off the back iron at the buzzer by Thornton, Ohio State officially lost its fifth straight contest, in addition to eight of its last nine.
“I just think we got to stay with it,” Gayle said. “And obviously there needs to be a sense of urgency if we want to do what we all came here for.”
The Buckeyes will face off against the Maryland Terrapins at home on Saturday at 4 p.m. FS1 will broadcast.
