Devin Royal's huge second half helped Ohio State basketball come back in dramatic win over Michigan State

The Ohio State basketball team went into East Lansing and ended their 14-month-long road losing streak thanks to a hero shot from Dale Bonner that won it for the Buckeyes. Everyone will remember the shot from Bonner, but as for the whole game, we can't forget how freshman Devin Royal had his breakout game and made a major impact during the second-half comeback.

The freshman led the Ohio State basketball team in scoring yesterday with 14 points on six of eight shooting from the field in 18 minutes of action. He displayed his talent offensively by scoring in many different ways during some big moments late in the game, and he did an excellent job on the defensive end as well.

With a little under 12 minutes remaining in the second half, the Buckeyes trailed by 12 points, and it seemed all the momentum was with the Spartans. Then, the Ohio State basketball team responded with a 15-4 run in nearly five and a half minutes to bring the Michigan State lead to one. This run began with a nice bucket at the rim from Royal.

After his first basket to start the run, Royal came down on offense shortly after and scored two more points with a sweet turnaround jumper. The very next defensive possession he got a steal, and then Middleton found him on the elbow for a mid-range jumper the next trip on offense cutting the deficit to six points.

Late in the game, Royal scored another crucial basket after he and Felix Okpara had a nice little two-man action down low making it 56-55 Michigan State with 1:12 remaining in the game. He also made the inbound pass to Bruce Thornton that led to the game-winning shot from Dale Bonner on the last possession. You don't see a lot of freshmen deciding to take the ball out under that type of pressure, so it's encouraging to see Royal have that confidence in himself.

Royal showed on Sunday that he can be a bright spot offensively for the Buckeyes moving forward. His ability to quickly read the defense and find open spots on the floor offensively is very impressive for a freshman. Royal is another weapon the Ohio State basketball team can utilize on offense now and in the future with the program.

When everything seemed lost offensively for the Buckeyes yesterday, Royal gave the Ohio State basketball team a spark that ignited their run in the second half. With Jamison Battle unable to go in this one due to an ankle injury, someone needed to step up on offense to fill his shoes. Royal came through for the Buckeyes in a massive way and should see a usage increase moving forward.

This was an awesome win for the Ohio State basketball team. They have been through a lot of adversity lately, and have responded with some of their best basketball all season.