Freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh led all players with 20 points as Ohio State overcame a poor shooting performance to defeat Eastern Illinois 65-43 Wednesday at Value City Arena.
Alongside Sensabaugh’s performance, junior forward Zed Key recorded his third-straight double-double to begin the season — the first Ohio State player to begin the season with three-straight since Keita Bates-Diop in 2017.
The Buckeyes (3-0) struggled offensively throughout the game, shooting 40 percent from the field and committing 17 turnovers to allow the game to remain competitive in the first half. Key hauled in 14 rebounds while guards freshman Roddy Gayle Jr. and graduate Isaac Likekele each dished out three assists.
Junior guard Eugene Brown III missed his third-straight game dealing with a concussion while 10 different Buckeyes played. Of the 57 shots the Buckeyes took from the floor, 28 of them were 3-point attempts.
The Panthers (0-4) were led by graduate guard Yaakema Rose Jr., who scored 17 points and hauled in seven rebounds. Despite his performance, Eastern Illinois similarly struggled on offense, shooting 25 percent from the field during the game.
Key opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, but the game got off to a slow start due to neither team finding the bottom of the net. Despite Ohio State never trailing, the Panthers stayed in the game by inducing seven first half turnovers.
The Buckeyes held an early 21-5 lead, but Eastern Illinois ended the first half on a 15-5 run behind scoring from Rose and junior guard Kinyon Hodges, with the score 26-20 in favor of Ohio State heading into the locker room.
The Panthers cut the lead to three to start the half, but the Buckeyes went on a subsequent 9-0 run and never led by less than 10 afterwards. After shooting 31 percent in the first half, Ohio State shot 50 percent in the second half.
Likekele and freshman guard Bruce Thornton combined for 17 of the team’s 52 total rebounds for the night. But, the struggles from 3-point range and the free throw line continue for Ohio State, shooting only 28.6 and 61.1 percent, respectively.
Ohio State travels to Lahaina, Hawaii, Nov. 21 to face San Diego State in the Maui Invitational for its next matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. on ESPN.
