Ohio State builds big lead, holds on against Rutgers behind Bruce Thornton, Jamison Battle
Regardless of which team was shooting the ball, it would’ve felt like a crime against basketball if the shot didn’t go in.
Jamison Battle eyed a 3-pointer from the right corner during the first half of Ohio State’s resumption of Big Ten play against Rutgers on Wednesday night at Value City Arena. Battle gave up the shot, drove, drew a defender and kicked the ball to the left corner where Roddy Gayle Jr. waited.
He passed up a slightly contested 3, sending the ball toward the top of the circle to Bruce Thornton. With Rutgers scrambling to cover the sophomore guard, he quickly fed it to his right and a waiting Scotty Middleton. The freshman, who earlier had hit a 3 of his own, knew what to do and made one more pass to his left.
Battle, having filled the open space on the right wing, took the pass in stride and calmly swished the attempt. The home fans at Value City Arena on Wednesday night were already on their feet, and the basketball gods rewarded the effort with a swish. That gave Ohio State (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) a 30-20 lead that it would not relinquish in a 76-72 win against Rutgers (8-5, 0-2).
"In the end, I knew that shot was going to go in because the game rewards the game," Battle said. "The way we moved that ball, the way we played, it had to go in at that point."
It would once again get tight in the final minutes, but the Buckeyes held on to win their fourth straight game. Rutgers only led for 55 seconds, but it got close late.
A 7-0 Rutgers pulled the visitors within 67-66 with 3:20 to play when Mawot Mag backed down Battle and scored in the paint as the Buckeyes missed three straight shots and committed a turnover, but Thornton came up with an answer when he collected his own miss and found Evan Mahaffey for a bucket to make it 69-66. And when the teams combined for three consecutive turnovers, Gayle hit a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc to make it a six-point lead with 1:29 left.
Still, the Scarlet Knights kept coming. Ahead 74-69, Thornton was fouled and went to the line with 22 seconds only to miss the front end of the one-and-one, setting up a 3-pointer from Derek Simpson and a Rutgers timeout with 15.4 seconds left and Ohio State's lead down to 74-72.
After Ohio State broke the press, Gayle was fouled with 12.2 seconds left and hit both free throws in a one-and-one situation to ice the game.
"I thought there were stretches of the last five minutes where they got to their spots and we allowed them to get to their spots and we had trouble getting to ours," Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. "We’ve got to correct that. I think physically we just have to play with more force in those situations, both offensively and defensively."
Thornton finished with 24 points and Battle had 22 for the Buckeyes, who now go to Indiana on Saturday night.
"Our mantra has been don’t flinch," Battle said. "I don’t think we flinched today."
A game that promised to be a slugfest started out as anything but. When Gavin Griffiths sunk a 3-pointer from the top of the circle with 11:38 to play in the first half, it gave offensively challenged Rutgers a 20-19 lead. The Scarlet Knights entered the arena last in the Big Ten in scoring average at 67.5 points per game and were ranked 242nd nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency according to KenPom.com.
When Griffiths hit his 3-pointer, though, Rutgers was 8 for 12 from the floor and looking pretty good doing it. And when Thornton moved his feet too quickly on a drive from the left wing and was whistled with his third turnover of the game, it was already a season high mark for the sophomore and it sent the teams into the under-12 media timeout.
But while Rutgers was 8 for 12 to that point, Ohio State wasn’t far behind at 7 for 12. After the timeout, Middleton, who was 1 for 16 from the floor for three total points in Ohio State’s previous three games, swished a 3-pointer from just left of straight-on that didn’t make the net move.
Ohio State would keep coming. Rutgers would not. Middleton’s 3-pointer started an 11-0 run capped by Battle’s fourth 3-pointer of the game and the recipient of great ball movement. Rutgers called timeout down 30-20 with 7:49 left and got a runner from Derek Simpson to briefly stop the bleeding, but Thornton hit a 3 from the left wing to answer.
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Thornton hit another 3 two possessions later to make it 36-24, stole the ball and fed Battle for a dunk on the next possession and then watched Battle sink his fifth 3 to make Ohio State 9 for 11 from deep and give the Buckeyes their biggest lead at 41-24. They would take a 45-32 lead into the half, having outscored Rutgers 26-12 in the final 11:37.
Battle had 17 at the half as Ohio State assisted on 13 of 17 field goals, outrebounded Rutgers 19-16 and held the Scarlet Knights to two assists on 13 makes. Gayle, who scored a career-high 32 last time out, was scoreless on six shots with four rebounds and two assists.
Thornton did not commit another turnover after those initial three and finished with seven assists. Gayle finished with 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting and had four turnovers.
Ohio State's 11 3-pointers were the most allowed by Rutgers in a game this season.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bruce Thornton, Ohio State build big lead, hold on against Rutgers
