Ohio State basketball shows resolve in comeback win vs. Rutgers

Backed by career nights from multiple Buckeyes, 23rd ranked the Ohio State basketball team rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to knock off 11th ranked Rutgers 80-68.

Duane Washington Jr. had one of his best offensive outings so far, scoring a career-high 22 points, as he led the Ohio State basketball team to an 80-68 win over the Scarlet Knights. E.J. Liddell also scored a career-high 21 points on 8-14 shooting. Kyle Young continued the trend of career nights, notching a double-double that included a career-high 17 points in addition to 12 rebounds.

Seth Towns appeared in his second consecutive game for the Buckeyes, scoring four points and grabbing four rebounds.

The Buckeyes found themselves down by double digits heading into half-time, mainly due to poor shooting, but dug themselves out of the hole early into the second half and keep themselves in the game.

For Rutgers, Ron Harper Jr. was on a tear, displaying why he is considered one of the top players in the entire conference. Harper finished the game with 20 points, 10 of them scored on a 10-0 scoring run all by himself. Montez Mathis added 16 points and Jacob Young scored 12 points.

Myles Johnson fouled out with just under nine minutes remaining in the second half with Rutgers up six and that’s when the momentum shifted. The Buckeyes went on an 18-4 run to take an eight-point lead with around three minutes left before cruising to the 80-68 lead.

Without center Cliff Omoruyi, the Scarlet Knights just didn’t have enough depth to finish the game. Once Johnson fouled out, it was essentially game over.

UP NEXT

Ohio State travels to Illinois to take on Northwestern on Saturday, December 26th. Northwestern is coming off a huge 14 point win over Michigan State last weekend and takes on Indiana tonight at 8:30.