Ohio State junior forward Justice Sueing (14) dribbles the ball down the court during the Ohio State-Illinois State game on Nov. 25. Ohio State won 94-67. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
After the team’s biggest win of the season, the Buckeyes came out flat against the Vikings but would ultimately secure their fifth win of the season.
No. 22 Ohio State (5-0) struggled to find the offensive magic it had against Notre Dame Tuesday. After a second half against the Fighting Irish in which they dropped 56 points on 54.5-percent shooting, the Buckeyes would start off its 67-61 win over Cleveland State (0-3) with a 31-point half that saw the Buckeyes hit on only 38.5-percent of its shots from the field.
“I thought they just really took it to us in a lot of ways. We’ve got to be better. Respond better to those moments.,” head coach Chris Holtmann said Sunday. “Give our guys credit, I thought they found a way to pull it out when we weren’t necessarily doing some things as well as we’d like to do, but I tell you, they found a way and I give our guys a lot of credit for that.”
In the absence of sophomore forward E.J. Liddell, who entered the game as Ohio State’s leading scorer with 15.5 points per game to go along with a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game, the Buckeyes struggled to establish themselves on the interior.
Ohio State entered the game outscoring opponents 126-64 in the paint through four games, but Cleveland State would hold an eight-point advantage on the interior through the first 20 minutes of the game.
Points in the paint would finish 34-22 in favor of Cleveland State.
A bright spot on the inside was freshman forward Zed Key, who tallied 12 points to go along with a career-high 10 rebounds.
“Just come in and play hard — that’s what the coaches expect from all of us,” Key said Saturday. “Just embrace it and just come into the game and play your butt off.”
Junior guard Duane Washington would come out of the gates in a rhythm — hitting on his first two 3-point shots of the game.
Washington was unable to keep the momentum rolling, however. He would finish the half hitting on only one of his next seven shots.
He would finish with a game-high 17.
As a team, the Buckeyes would struggle to connect from the outside.
Following a season-high 11 made 3-pointers against Notre Dame on 45.8 percent shooting, Ohio State would hit on just 6-of-21 from beyond the arc against Cleveland State.
Taking a 31-24 score into halftime, the Buckeyes would continue to struggle after intermission.
Cleveland State senior forward Torrey Patton would present a challenge for the Buckeyes. He would pour in eight points to go along with 14 rebounds.
The Vikings would cut the deficit to one point with just over 13 minutes remaining, but junior forward Justin Ahrens, redshirt senior guard CJ Walker and senior guard Jimmy Sotos would all connect on 3-point shots to build the lead back up.
Walker would finish the game with 16 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
“They gave me certain looks and I just took advantage of them,” Walker said Sunday. “I just took what they gave me and I just took advantage and I just happened to make some shots [in] the first and second half and get to the basket.”
The Buckeyes will open Big Ten play Wednesday with a trip to play Purdue. The game is set to tip at 7 p.m.
This story was updated Sunday at 7:12 p.m. with quotes from Chris Holtmann, Zed Key and CJ Walker.
