Ohio State Comes Back From 15-Point Deficit To Beat Rutgers 80-73 To Start New Year

Ohio State went down big early on against Rutgers in the first game of the new year, but was able to recover and beat the Scarlet Knights 80-73 for its second Big Ten win of the season.

The Buckeyes (10-3, 2-1 Big Ten) had a cold first half, but finished the first 20 minutes with a strong comeback that continued into the second, during which the Scarlet Knights (7-7, 0-3) struggled to make stops.

The Buckeyes got off to a quick start with a three-point play on the first possession of the game followed by a three from junior forward Devin Royal to take a 6-2 lead just over a minute in.

But Rutgers went on an 8-2 run to lead 10-8 at 16:18 after a layup by Harun Zrno before OSU scored five straight points to lead 13-10.

To that point, the Scarlet Knights had missed their first five three-point shots of the game, but that luck turned around when Dylan Grant knocked one down at 13:25, which started a run of three straight possessions making one for the Knights.

Senior guard Bruce Thornton answered with a three of his own to bring the Buckeyes within one point at 11:55, but Rutgers was able to take an eight-point lead, 26-18, with seven straight points.

The run for the Scarlet Knights continued, going up by as many as 15 points, 39-24, with 3:58 left in the first half.

Ohio State was able to recover from that deficit in a short time, going on a 13-2 run to finish the half, with senior forward Brandon Noel scoring eight points during the stretch. The Buckeyes went into the locker room down 41-37.

The impressive shooting OSU finished the first half with continued into the second, with the Buckeyes scoring on their first eight possessions with the help of a few offensive rebounds early on. By the time that run was over, Ohio State had a 55-47 lead at 13:53, with two Thornton layups ending the run.

Rutgers brought the game within three points just over a minute and a half later with a layup, a free throw and a three-point jumper. Then, at 10:20, Darren Buchanan Jr. made it a 58-57 game with a jumper from just inside the arc.

Royal made two free throws to go back up by three, but Rutgers scored four straight to take the lead back from the Buckeyes, 61-60 at 9:05. Thornton and Royal both made layups to get the lead again, but the two teams continued to trade it back-and-forth when Rutgers made two free throws to go up 65-64.

Thornton gained the lead back with a three-pointer, but he was injured on a layup attempt soon after and went to the locker room after being subbed out. The Buckeyes went up 70-67 without Thornton in the game on a converted three-point play from Royal with 5:23 left. Thornton returned to the game shortly after.

That lead extended to six points on a Royal free throw and a layup from senior center Christoph Tilly at 3:23, but a dunk from Bryce Dortch at 2:43 brought the Scarlet Knights within four.

But sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. made a three-point jumper at 2:13 to make it a seven-point lead for the Buckeyes, and neither team was able to score until freshman forward Amare Bynum made two free throws at 1:16 to go up 78-69.

Ohio State was led by Thornton’s 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and he added 10 rebounds, which was the most of any player in the game. Royal scored 16 points and tied Mobley for a team-leading four assists. Mobley had 12 points and Noel scored 14.

Rutgers had 17 points from Tariq Francis, who came off the bench in the contest. He and Grant (14) were the only double-digit scorers.