Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes overcome mistakes to win nail-biter
The Ohio State basketball team was rusty after a 10 day layoff but managed to hold off the Bucknell Bison and escape with a two point win.
At the beginning of the game versus Bucknell it appeared the Ohio State players weren’t suffering any ill effects from being out of action for 10 days. The Buckeyes held a 25-20 lead and then mistakes on both ends of the floor began to mount.
Turnovers and poor shot selection stalled the offense. Lapses on defense allowed the Bison to get wide open shots from three-point range which they hit. Bucknell went on a run and took a 40-39 lead into halftime.
It was more of the same early in the second half and the Buckeyes fell behind 49-41 before closing the gap to 52-48. Then junior Andre Wesson, who had been injured a few minutes earlier, re-entered the game and that seemed to energize the team.
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C.J. Jackson hit a three-point shot and Keyshawn Woods hit a jumper to give the Buckeyes a 53-52 lead and they never looked back. At least until the last two minutes of the game when things got tense.
Ohio State appeared to have the win secured after taking a 69-59 lead. Apparently the Bucknell players thought differently.
Missed free throws by the Buckeyes and quick scores by the Bison closed the gap to 73-68 with 20 seconds to play and a three pointer by Avi Toomer made it a two point game. Ohio State was unable to inbound the ball cleanly and a Bucknell player recovered the loose ball and called timeout with 14 seconds left to play.
After forcing a contested three-point shot as time was winding down with another wide of the basket at the buzzer the Buckeyes walked off with a 73-71 victory.
Leading scorers for the Buckeyes were Kaleb Wesson (22), Keyshawn Woods (13) and C.J. Jackson (10). Wesson also added 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Bison had four players in double figures. Kimbal Mackenzie and Avi Toomer led the way with 13 points, Jimmy Sotos scored 10 and Nate Sestina 10.
Next. Week 5 Big Ten power rankings. dark
Ohio State is now 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten. Next up is Youngstown State on Tuesday.