Buckeyes Bounce Back, Beat Gophers 78-72
By Dillon Davis
Coming off a bad loss at home to Northwestern over the weekend, the Ohio State Buckeyes were in desperate need of a bounce back performance. They would need to do so against a Minnesota team that thoroughly dominated them earlier in the month in Minneapolis.
Raise your hand if you had Trevor Thompson tying for the team lead with 19 points to help the Buckeyes to a crucial win….you’re a liar.
Thompson’s career night was just the spark that the Buckeyes needed as they held of Minnesota for a 78-72 win on Wednesday night in Value City Arena.
He also added 10 rebounds for the double-double.
For much of the first half, it appeared that Ohio State was ready to put the game away early. But as they are so prone to doing, Ohio State went cold over the final minutes of the first half, allowing Minnesota back in the game,
A 17-point lead was cut to five heading into the locker room as the Buckeyes went
scoreless over the last 3:30 of the first half.
Ohio State led by as many as 10 in the second half. C.J. Jackson’s pair of free throws gave his team the double digit lead with less than 10 minutes to play.
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But Minnesota refused to go away, cutting the lead to two points with a little over two minutes to play on Nate Mason’s free throws. Mason had a game-high 21 points.
Things were frantic for the Buckeyes in the final two minutes. Missed free throws and turnovers almost doomed them, but a Marc Loving three pointer with 57 seconds gave the Buckeyes a six point lead.
Akeem Springs immediately answered with a three ball of his own to bring the Gophers back to within a single possession, but three free throws by JaQuan Lyle and Thompson finally put the game on ice.
The Buckeyes were good from the line, a game after going 12 of 23 from the charity stripe. They finished 23 of 30 on the night.
Loving matched Thompson’s 19 points, with Lyle and Tate also scoring double figures.
As a team, the Buckeyes shot 50 percent from the field.
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The win moves Ohio State to 13-8 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten. They will hit the road next, traveling to Iowa on Saturday night for a matchup with the Hawkeyes. Tipoff is set for 8:00.