Ohio State men’s basketball improved to 10-1 with a Saturday win against South Carolina, but not before sophomore forward Jared Sullinger sustained another injury.
Sullinger logged just six minutes for the No. 2 Buckeyes against the unranked Gamecocks before he left the game with an injury to his left foot. Sophomore forward Deshaun Thomas picked up the slack in Sullinger’s absence, scoring a career-high 30 points in 40 minutes of work to help see OSU to a 74-66 road win.
OSU athletics spokesman Dan Wallenberg confirmed to The Lantern after the game that Sullinger sustained a bone bruise in his left foot. From his Twitter account, @Jared_Sully0, Sullinger tweeted at around 3:30 p.m.: “Just a freak accident. Great win for us tho. Our first road win. #FYI I will be fine ppl…. Back at it tomorrow.”
Sullinger missed two games after suffering back spasms during OSU’s Nov. 29 win against Duke.
The Gamecocks took a 33-29 lead into half, but Buckeyes coach Thad Matta and his players erased the deficit and eventually clinched the win, the 200th for Matta in eight seasons as head coach at OSU. Matta collected his 300th career win Dec. 3 when the Buckeyes defeated Texas-Pan American, 64-35.
The Buckeyes will play the first of two remaining non-conference games Tuesday against Lamar University. Opening tip is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at the Schottenstein Center.
