Supporting cast carries Ohio State in final minute vs Cornell: 5 NIT takeaways
The reasons Ohio State was still playing basketball were all over the game’s pivotal minute.
Hosting Cornell in a first-round NIT game on Tuesday night, the Buckeyes trailed for more than half of the game and fell behind on a layup from new nemesis Isaiah Gray with 1:04 to play. The veteran guard whose ability to slice through Ohio State’s defense and finish at the rim was matched only by the smoothness of his bald head broke a 79-all tie and gave him a season-high 19 points.
One day after having publicly introduced newly promoted coach Jake Diebler as the program’s long-term leader, the Buckeyes trailed against their Ivy League foe and called timeout with 57.5 seconds left.
Out of the timeout, fifth-year forward Jamison Battle sunk a corner 3 for the 17th and final lead change of the night. Undeterred, Cornell rushed the ball up the court as it had all game, but this time sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. poked the ball from Nazir Williams, forcing a jump ball and awarding the Buckeyes possession with 33.5 seconds left. The Big Red set up their full-court defense, but Evan Mahaffey’s full-court pass led to a Devin Royal dunk that pushed the lead to 84-81.
Bonner pulled down a Gray miss, drew the foul and hit two free throws with 13 seconds left. Mahaffey hit two more with three seconds left and, finally, the Buckeyes could exhale and celebrate the postseason win.
The journey in those final 60 seconds mirrored the one that the Buckeyes have walked all season, Battle said, first for Chris Holtmann and now Diebler.
“That’s who this team is,” he said. “When there’s an opportunity that arises, guys are going to step up. That’s a testament to Holt and Diebler, who they recruited and who they brought into this program. We want to be in those big moments.
“It’s awesome to see different guys stepping up but it’s not surprising at all.”
Battle finished with 17 points and was 3 for 4 from 3, but in Friday’s 77-74 loss to No. 2 seed Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals he got two game-tying attempts in the final 10 seconds but couldn’t get either to fall. Mahaffey had three assists, one of which was in the final minute, and the free throws were his only points. Bonner, pressed into more significant duty after Bruce Thornton left midway through the second half due to injury, had 7 points, four assists and three steals.
Gayle had 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and one steal – the pivotal one late.
“I feel like those games we had two months ago prepped us for this,” Gayle said. “Leaning next to somebody and trusting that they’re going to do their job, that was the key in us being victorious.”
Here are four other takeaways from Ohio State’s 88-83 win against Cornell on Tuesday night.
Ohio State won despite missing Scotty Middleton, Bruce Thornton
The Buckeyes entered the game down one man. Freshman wing Scotty Middleton was away from the team to deal with a family situation back home in Miami, and his absence forced Diebler to replace a key defender who averages 4.4 points in 15.3 minutes per game. Recently, Middleton has emerged as a consistently dangerous 3-point threat, having hit 12 of his last 17 shots from deep (70.6%) to improve to 45.2% (28 for 62) on the season.
He is likely to return in time for Saturday’s second-round game against No. 3 seed Virginia Tech.
“It caused some adjustments certainly throughout the flow of the game,” Diebler said. “Scotty and I have been in contact today. We’re thinking of him and praying for him and his family. I haven’t talked to him since the game’s been over yet, but I’m sure we’ll touch base soon.”
The Buckeyes then lost Thornton, their leader in points, minutes played and assists, when he exited the game with 10:18 to play after landing awkwardly and clutching at his right ankle. He went to the locker room, returned a few moments later and watched the remainder from the bench.
“We handled it pretty well,” Battle said of Thornton’s absence. “It’s a testament to coaching. We don’t really let that affect us because even if Bruce is out, he’s going to be the biggest cheerleader on the side. We’ve got to rally around each other.”
Diebler said Thornton’s status would be evaluated after the game.
“It’s hard to navigate without Bruce on the floor,” the coach said. “He’s a special player. Sprained his ankle. He’ll be evaluated as soon as we can.”
Coaching staff continues to shuffle as Jack Owens leaves
During his Monday press conference, Diebler said his coaching staff could potentially face some further changes since his elevation to interim and then head coach after Holtmann was fired on Feb. 14. Jack Owens is no longer with the program, having accepted a job to continue with Holtmann at DePaul, putting the Buckeyes down another man on the bench. Owens no longer appears in the team’s official game notes.
Assistant to the head coach Nick Kellogg is the latest to see his role change.
“It’s been since the middle of February there’s been a lot of adjustment,” Diebler said. “Guys have stepped up. Nick did a great job. Got to deliver some film and scouting stuff for the first time. We’ve embraced change. That’s been obvious. Everybody’s had to step up and adapt, the staff, players, everybody within the program.
Buckeyes struggle to stop Cornell’s back-cutting offense
The Big Red are among the nation’s best at converting two-point field goals. Cornell ends its season second nationally in two-point field goal percentage at 61.7% but only 278th in percentage of points scored from two-point range. When they get to the rim, it’s probably a layup, and it’s probably going in.
Against Ohio State, Cornell was 21 for 34 (61.8%) from two and 12 for 33 (36.4%) from 3. It was a style of play that gave Ohio State issues, particularly with one day’s worth of preparation between Sunday’s bracket reveal and Tuesday’s game.
“They play a unique style from the standpoint of their spacing, amount of guys who can shoot and their cutting, their passing,” Diebler said. “On a quick turnaround, not a lot of time to prepare, I was proud of how our guys made some adjustments throughout the game to get the win. Our guys were able to adjust. We got better at it.”
Battle compared Cornell’s approach to that of Miami (Ohio), a team the Buckeyes beat 84-64 on Dec. 6.
“Similar type of style where we kind of got diced up on backdoor cuts,” he said. “It’s a testament to the work they put in, but it’s a testament to the work we also put in. Coming in on a short week on short prep, to figure things out. The backdoor cuts obviously killed us but we found other ways to affect the game. It was a tough prep, but in the end we got the job done.”
Asked to draw a Big Ten comparison, Diebler likened Cornell to Nebraska.
“They have great chemistry and a lot of skill,” he said. “I think the closest team we would see in-league is Nebraska, having a big that can shoot, the five-out spacing, the cutting, the 3-point attempts.”
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Ohio State gets extra opportunity after technical foul
No player fueled Cornell’s upset bid more than Gray, whose 19 points came on 8-of-10 shooting. He did not attempt a 3-pointer and was 3 for 4 from the free-throw line while adding five rebounds, four assists, two steals and drawing seven fouls.
He was a handful. But with 3:12 to play, Gary said a mouthful and gave the Buckeyes an extra opportunity at the line. After he finished at the rim on yet another hard cut, Gary yelled in the direction of an Ohio State player and was whistled for a technical foul. That sent Battle, a 95.8% free-throw shooter this season, to the line in a one-point game. He missed the first and hit the second, and on the ensuing possession Felix Okpara drew a foul and also split his pair of attempts.
“There’s a balance,” Diebler said of playing with an edge. “We want to play with some toughness and aggressiveness. Throughout the flow of the game there’s some conversations that happen, but our guys, there’s a maturity to this team and a poise that’s required specifically as the game tightens. I thought our guys showed great poise.”
Ohio State shot just 59.1% from the free-throw line, hitting 13 of 22 attempts. Most surprisingly, Battle went 2 for 5. In Ohio State’s prior 33 games, Battle had missed three free throws total.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 5 takeaways: Ohio State's supporting cast steps up in NIT vs Cornell
