Men’s basketball lost the Heartbreaker to No. 25 Ohio State 67-66

COLUMBUS, OHIO It was a heartbreaker for the Scarlet Knights in Columbus on Thursday night.

With RU up by two points on its final possession, Ohio State guard Tanner Holden’s go-ahead three-pointer went through the net as the Buckeyes expired to defeat the Scarlet Knights 67-66 at the Schottenstein Center.

Upon further review, photos and video show that shortstop Bruce Thornton stepped out of bounds before handing the ball to Holden. Holden was off the field before he caught the pass and was the first Ohio State player to touch the ball. Holden was unable to get back into bounds until he received a pass from Thornton.

“It was a tough road game and we were tight the whole time,” Pikiell said. “We were one play down and we have to give credit to (Chris) Holtmann. Ohio State tough and physical. I thought we played well. I thought we played down plays. I thought we executed when we needed to. I didn’t get that last stop . I thought (the shooter) went out of bounds. I’m not sure. But they hit a huge three and won the game.” Center Clifford Omoruyi blocked Buckeyes forward Brice Sensabaugh’s shot attempt with nine seconds left and RU up by a point.

After an intentional foul by Ohio State, Mulcahy made a pair of free throws to make it 65-62 with 5.8 seconds left. RU intentionally fouled Ohio State on the next possession, forcing Thornton to the free throw line with two converted free throws.

From RU’s final control to grad onwards Caleb McConnell sent to the free throw line. After shooting 10-for-10 from the line to start the season, McConnell missed one of two free throws to put Ohio State on defense and the final play of the game.

“My team, they fight and I’m proud of them,” Pikiell said. “We’ve won games like this, but it’s just a tough way to lose. That’s life here in the Big 10 (conference). I’ve got to give them credit. They made one more play, but I’m not sure about the sideline. I thought he was clearly out. , but again I didn’t see anything.”

Omoruyi led Rutgers with 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half. “Big Cliff” was (7-10) from the field with eight boards and a pair of blocked shots.

Spencer made his first four shots of the first half and finished with 11 points, five assists and two steals.

“Cam is really good at making plays,” Pikiell said. “He’s a good player. Paul (Mulcahy), when he got him back, changes a lot of things for us and moves Cam to another spot where he can do more things. I really thought we had a stretch and made a big one. We’re just disappointed in our guys. This it’s a tough place to play here and the chance to win was just very tough.”

Senior striker Aundre Hyatt 13 points (6-12) from the field, two boards and one assist. Mulcahy had nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in his second straight return from a shoulder injury off the bench.
McConnell, who attended high school in Geneva, Ohio, had five points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Freshman guard Derek Simpson he had four points, all of which came in the second half in key moments of the game.

“Caleb is the best, and we’ve been here before,” Pikiell said. “These kids are tough and tough. Caleb’s a great player. Thinking back six weeks ago, he didn’t practice, but these kids are tough. We’ll be back. We’ve got a lot of time left, and hopefully we can. take one of these back.”

Gallery: (10/12/2022) MBB vs. Ohio State

The Buckeyes were led by forward Zed Key, who scored a game-high 22 points (9-12) on 12 shots. RU held Key to seven points in the second half after Key had a dominant first period.

“He’s good and he’s the leading offensive rebounder in our league and he really got on the glass,” Pikiell said. “I thought our turnovers in the first half really hurt us and helped them. We just did a better job with our physicality (in the second half). We did a better job blocking. We did a better job on the court. taking him off the glass and keeping them out of those nice positions that he likes to be in on the court . He’s good and you can only keep him for so long.”

Sensabaugh scored 13 points, with two assists and one steal. Thornton had ten points, five assists and two steals. Forward Justice Sueing had nine points, three assists and two steals. Guard Sean McNeil had seven points and two assists.

Rutgers shot 51.9 percent from the field (28-54) and had a team-high 14 assists. The Scarlet Knights overcame an 11-point Buckeyes lead with 4:06 left in the first half after going on a 9-0 run. There were 12 lead changes, and the scores were tied 12 times on Thursday evening.

Rutgers had 38 points in the paint compared to OSU’s 28 points. RU had 18 points off the bench compared to Buckeye’s six.

Rutgers is now 6-3 overall, 1-1 in the Big Ten. Next, RU hosts Seton Hall on Sunday at Jersey Mike’s Arena at 6:30 p.m

“We have a quick turnaround here for our next game,” Pikiell said. “Our guys do a really good job of learning from film, so we’re trying to take advantage of that and do a better job.”