Ohio State junior guard C.J. Jackson (3) takes a three pointer in the second half of the game against Radford on Nov. 12. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Photo Editor
Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann watched helplessly from the sideline as his team blew a 15-point lead in regulation to Butler, his former team, and lost 67-66 on a lay-up from Butler senior forward Kelan Martin with four seconds left in overtime.
After Martin’s lay-up, Holtmann frantically tried to call a timeout as his team took possession before junior guard C.J. Jackson attempted a deep 3-pointer from just in front of the halfcourt line as time expired.
Ohio State redshirt junior forward Keita Bates-Diop took a contested 3-point shot that barely grazed the rim, then Martin finished the game-winner after blowing by him on the other end.
Ohio State (5-2) led for 37:18 of the game and held a 15-point lead over the Bulldogs (5-2) with just 3:39 remaining. However, Butler sophomore guard Kamar Baldwin nailed a 3-pointer with 8.8 seconds left to tie the game at 59 and cap a 10-0 run. Both Baldwin and Jackson had chances to give their respective teams the lead with less than six seconds left, but neither cashed in, sending the game to overtime.
The Buckeyes got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 20-12 lead with six minutes left in the first half. But Butler went on a 9-0 run to take the 21-20 lead. A pair of jump-shots by Jackson and Bates-Diop put the Buckeyes up 24-21 heading into the half.
Coming out of the break, Ohio State and Butler traded punches before the Buckeyes went on an 8-0 run to open up a 34-25 lead. The run was snapped by a wide-open 3-pointer from the wing by Martin. Two minutes later, Martin added two more points with a lay-up to bring the score within four. He finished the game with 24 points, going 9-for-22 from the field with six rebounds.
After Martin’s lay-up, the Buckeyes went on a 12-2 run to pull away 48-34, propelled by five points from Bates-Diop.
Ohio State also proved more accurate from beyond the arc, draining 24-of-52 shots from 3-point territory while Butler went 25-for-69. Both teams ran into turnover trouble with Ohio State turning the ball over 24 times compared to 14 from Butler.
Jackson led the Buckeyes with 19 points and went a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe — including 4-for-4 in overtime — but also turned the ball over a team-high seven times.
The Buckeyes finished the four-day stretch of games with a 1-2 record, coming away with a lone win against Stanford on Friday and losses against Gonzaga early Friday morning and Butler Sunday afternoon. They will be back in action against Clemson at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Schottenstein Center.
