Ohio State fifth-year guard Micah Parrish (8) defends Indiana senior center Langdon Hatton (12) during the game Friday at the Schottenstein Center. The Buckeyes lost to the Hoosiers 77-76 in overtime. Credit: Matthew Wu | Lantern Photographer
Heartbreak is a feeling that Ohio State basketball is becoming all too familiar with.
Looking to snap a two-game losing streak, the Buckeyes instead extended it as Ohio State (10-8, 2-5 Big Ten) fell 77-76 in overtime to Indiana (14-5, 5-3 Big Ten) Friday night at Value City Arena.
Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler said the team is right there, they just need to finish strong through the final seconds.
“We’re playing hard, we’re playing tough — now we need to play smarter,” Diebler said. “It’s literally a couple more possessions.”
Guard Bruce Thornton opened the scoring for the Buckeyes by getting to the lane and finishing over Indiana guard Anthony Leal.
Guard Micah Parrish hit a 3-pointer seven minutes into the game, the first field goal outside of the paint for either team. Parrish was hot early, tallying eight points into the first TV timeout, where the Buckeyes led 16-11.
After the Hoosiers tied the game at 20, forward Evan Mahaffey brought life into the Schottenstein Center, converting on an explosive alley-oop that was immediately answered by Hoosier center Oumar Ballo.
The Buckeyes had no answers for the Indiana big man all night, as he finished the game with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Ballo found consistent success in the paint. The absence of Ohio State forward Devin Royal proved pivotal in the end.
“You can’t replace someone like [Devin],” Parrish said. “He brings energy, toughness, rebounding, and inside scoring. It’s tough.”
Ohio State took a 35-29 halftime lead behind Parrish’s two-way play and Mahaffey’s defensive spark, holding Indiana to 33% shooting from the field in the first half.
Unlike Tuesday, when Ohio State came out of the break firing, the Buckeyes instead fell flat and allowed the Hoosiers to take control.
“They just turned up the intensity level, and we didn’t match it,” Parrish said. “That’s something we’ve been doing all year, and we just [have] to be better.”
Guard John Mobley Jr. was quiet in the first half, but opened the second with four quick points.
However, the Hoosiers responded with a 6-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from forward Luke Goode, which gave Indiana its first lead since early in the game.
After a Mobley three to give the Buckeyes a one-point lead, the Hoosiers went on a back-breaking 9-0 run to give them a 68-58 lead, their biggest of the night, with 5:12 left.
It looked all but over for the Buckeyes, as the energy had been zapped out of the Schottenstein Center.
However, following a Parrish and-1 to cut the lead to seven, Ohio State implemented a ferocious full-court press, instantly getting a steal, which led to a jam from Parrish to make the score 70-66 with three minutes to play.
“I want to give credit to our crowd—I thought they were really impactful in that stretch,” said Diebler. “the assistance [of the crowd] to get to overtime and cut that lead like we did – I wanted to mention that.”
With 46 seconds left and the Buckeyes down three, Mobley stepped up in a big way, rattling in a deep, game-tying three, followed by an Ohio State defensive stop to force overtime.
Mobley put the Ohio State offense on his back, scoring 19 second-half points.
In overtime, center Ivan Njegovan gave the Buckeyes an early spark on a tough finish and a block, but Goode, Indiana’s second-half star, hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:09 remaining.
Ohio State had one last chance to close the game with 15.5 seconds left, but Thornton’s potential game-winning three clinked out, sealing the Hoosiers’ 77-76 victory.
Next, Ohio State will face No. 17 Purdue Jan. 21 at Mackey Arena. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.
