Needing a win in the worst way, the Buckeyes got off to a 16-0 start in large part due to connected, active half court defense en route to a 79-67 win over visiting Penn State to halt their losing streak at 3. Ohio State improved to 13-5, 3-4 with the win, while Penn State slipped to 9-10, 3-5. The Buckeyes built a lead as large as 23 in the second half before holding off a late Penn State flurry that cut the lead to as close as 9 in the waning minutes to come away with the ‘must win’. The Buckeyes hit 46% on the day, but only made 3 of their 18 attempts from long range, while holding the Nittany Lions to just 37%, although a late flurry of three’s allowed Penn State to finish 11 of 24 from long range. Ohio State was led by a career high 16 by Evan Mahaffey to go along with 6 rebounds, while Roddy Gayle also added 16. Jamison Battle added 11, while Zed Key came off the bench to chip in 10. Felix Okpara continued his run of recent success adding 8 points, 14 rebounds and a pair of blocks while altering many others to help lead the Buckeyes to the home win. Kanye Clary and Puff Johnson led Penn State with 13 each, while Nick Kern added 12 and Ace Baldwin 10 in the defeat.

Ohio State raced out to an early 10-0 lead thanks to good team half court defense and highly efficient basketball on the offensive end specifically by Roddy Gayle, whose early 6 points paced the Buckeyes. Felix Okpara added a short left handed hook mid-paint and the run was capped by Evan Mahaffey, who caught a Bruce Thornton pass on the right block and spun to the rim and scored off the window forcing Penn State to take a timeout at the 15:59 mark of the first half. Out of the timeout, it was more Buckeyes. Mahaffey hit a short fade mid paint and after a Dale Bonner steal, nifty passing led to Mahaffey taking an Okpara feed in the post to score off the window. After another defensive stop, Thornton lobbed to Okpara who finished with a sloppy dunk forcing Penn State to take another timeout at the 13:26 mark with the Buckeyes leading 16-0. Penn State finally got on the board, hitting a wild triple at the end of the shot clock to break an 0-11 shooting start. The Buckeyes answered as Jamison Battle backed in on the left block and scored off the window and after active hands on the defensive end, knocked the ball out of bounds, the under 12 media timeout was called with Ohio State all over Penn State, leading 18-3. Out of the timeout, Penn State hit a corner three to trim the lead, Ohio State answered with a Battle baseline spin and bucket off the window and after a quick Nittany Lion two, Gayle knocked in a pair of freebies after drawing a foul on a dribble drive. Penn State hit another 3 despite being heavily guarded at the end of the shot clock. The Buckeyes came right back as Gayle lobbed to Okpara who finished with a dunk and at the under 8 media timeout, Ohio State led 24-11. The Buckeyes extended the lead when Thornton got into the lane and was raked across the face attempting a shot in the paint and had to leave the game momentarily. Penn State chose Mahaffey to shoot the free throws and he knocked down the pair to extend the lead, but a triple on the other end cut the Buckeye lead back to 12. After empty possessions on both ends, the final media timeout of the half sent the teams retreating to their respective benches with Ohio State leading 26-14. Zed Key extended the Ohio State advantage, dropping down a pair of free throws, but a triple on the other end answered and got Penn State a little closer. Back at the stripe on the other end, Key split a pair this time as the Buckeyes led by 12. A missed backcourt violation on Penn State led to an easy deuce for the Lions, but a short one handed jumper just beyond the right block by Battle answered. After an Ohio State 30 second timeout and facing a Penn State zone defense, Gayle hit a runner along the right baseline to extend the lead to complete the first half scoring as Ohio State took a 33-19 lead into the locker room. The story of the first half was the Ohio State defense taking Penn State out of everything they wanted to do in the half court and contesting almost every jumper. The Buckeyes shot 46% in the first half despite being 0-8 from three and held Penn State to just 22% from the field and 5 of their 7 made shots were from beyond the arc. The Buckeyes held a 20-4 advantage in the paint due to an emphasis on playing a more attacking style and that led to 8 free throw attempts, where 7 dropped and kept Penn State off the line entirely. The Buckeyes were led by Roddy Gayle’s 10 points, while Evan Mahaffey added 8 points and 5 boards. Penn State was led by Ace Baldwin and Jameel Brown, who each hit a pair of three’s for 6 apiece.

Ohio State opened the second half scoring after a defensive stop when Thornton lobbed to Mahaffey who slipped behind the defense and finished with a dunk. Penn State grabbed an offensive rebound and scored at the rim, but quickly the other way, Mahaffey went coast to coast and scored off the window. After a Penn State two, Gayle knifed through the Penn State defense and scored off the window to answer. Penn State scored the other way for two, but Okpara grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. The Lions got another bucket to go at the rim to stay within arm’s length at the under 16 media timeout with Ohio State leading 41-27. A pair of Penn State free throws trimmed the lead, but facing a Penn State zone press, Devin Royal got free and scored near the rim. Following a defensive stop, Battle got free on the left wing and drilled a three to extend the lead to 17. Two Penn State free throws followed by two from Key kept the Buckeyes up 17 and after a defensive stop, Gayle found Key with a nifty interior pass and Key finished off the window. On the next possession, Key was at it again, scoring with a beautiful drop step and scored through contact. Key dropped in the ensuing free throw to complete the three point play. A Royal dribble drive and dunk was sandwiched by a pair of Penn State three’s and at the under 12 minute media timeout, Ohio State led 55-37. Penn State quickly scored out of the timeout, but Royal answered with a short jumper in the middle of the paint. After a Penn State score off the bounce, Royal went to the line and buried the pair to put Ohio State up 18 at the 10 minute mark. Another Penn State bucket in the paint answered the free throws, but Battle attacked the rim on the other end and got to the stripe where he knocked down the pair. After a defensive stop, Thornton buried a triple to extend the lead and at the under 8 media timeout, Ohio State was firmly in control, leading 64-43. Out of the timeout, Mahaffey knocked down a pair of freebies, but Penn State scored on their end, attacking the rim and scoring off the window. Mahaffey and Bonner executed a beautiful pick and roll left of the paint leading to a Mahaffey bucket, but another Penn State triple cut the lead back to 20. Penn State cut the lead a bit more with a bucket after an Ohio State miss and facing a backcourt trap, Ohio State called a timeout with 5:28 to play and the Buckeyes still way ahead, 68-50. Penn State cut the lead to 16 before a Bonner triple stopped the mini Penn State run. The Lions showed no quit however, scoring the next 5 prior to the final media timeout, cutting the Ohio State lead to 71-57 and on a 10-3 run. Coming out of the timeout, Bonner went to the stripe where he split the pair, but a Penn State triple cut the lead to 12. An empty Buckeye possession was followed by another Penn State three that cut the lead to 9 with less than 2 to play and Ohio State took a timeout with Penn State’s run up to 16-4, cutting a 21 point lead to just 9. A foul after the timeout sent Gayle to the stripe where he knocked down both. Penn State answered on their end with a two, but a short baseline jumper by Gayle answered. The Lions scored quickly the other way on a put back and called a timeout with 55 seconds to play and Ohio State leading 76-67. A foul in the backcourt after the timeout put Bonner back on the line and he hit both and after a Penn State miss, Bonner was fouled again putting him right back on the stripe. Bonner split the pair to put the Buckeyes up 12 with 40 seconds to play and after a Penn State miss, the Buckeyes ran out the clock to finish off the win. .

In what seemed like a philosophical change offensively for at least one game, Ohio State was on the attack for 40 minutes. Instead of consistently settling for outside jumpers, they took it at Penn State, scoring 40 points in the paint, and got out in transition at every opportunity. The defense was highly connected for 40 minutes, challenging every shooter and making it difficult for Penn State to do anything they wanted to do in the half court. Late in the game, Penn State was able to get some shots to fall in a desperate attempt to come from way behind, but Ohio State had an answer either at the stripe or at the rim to stymie the Penn State run and keep them at arm’s length. The Buckeyes, who led for the entire 40 minutes, only turned it over 6 times against the 11th ranked team in the country in forcing turnovers, while assisting on 15 of their 27 made shots which is an outstanding ratio. The win also matched last season’s regular season win total and gave Coach Chris Holtmann his 250th win of his career so a big congratulations to him. Here’s to many more this season and beyond. For one day at least, Ohio State can take a deep breath and enjoy a win that hopefully will propel them forward mentally with a big week ahead with a pair of difficult road tilts.

Ohio State has a quick turnaround, taking the floor again on Tuesday night facing Nebraska in Lincoln for a scheduled 7PM EST tip and airing on Peacock.

-Jason Harris

Photo Credit: Land Grant Holy Land