Second–year guard Bruce Thornton calls out a play from the top of the key during the first half of Ohio State’s 81-73 win over Virginia Tech at the Schottenstein Center Saturday. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor

Thirty-two second-half fouls and 45 free throws. 

The Buckeyes and Hokies battled it out at the free-throw line Saturday night in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. 

Advantage, Ohio State. 

The No. 2 seed Ohio State men’s basketball team (22-13, 9-11 Big Ten) outlasted the No. 3 seed Virginia Tech (19-15, 10-10 ACC) 81-73 in a foul-ridden second half in which the Buckeyes shot 26-of-28 from the charity stripe compared to the Hokies’ 14-of-17 mark.

Despite shooting just 25% from the field and 0-of-5 from three-point range, fifth-year forward Jamison Battle paved the way for Ohio State with 21 points, 17 of which came from the free-throw line. 

Battle was among five Buckeyes who scored in double figures. Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler had high praise for Battle’s ability to consistently knock down free throws.

“You feel like the ball is going in every time he’s there,” Diebler said.

The Buckeye fans at the Schottenstein Center at Value City Arena provided the Buckeyes with momentum all night long, and it started just ahead of the matchup Despite not hearing his name called amid the energetic crowd against Cornell —his first game as the full-time head coach— Diebler said he heard it this time around and it was an unreal moment.  

“It was a surreal feeling,” Diebler said. “I think the support for this group, the way we’ve been supported down the stretch has been awesome.”

Ohio State opened the game missing its first five shots, while Virginia Tech senior center Lynn Kidd had two early scores in the paint. 

It wasn’t until 3:39 that sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. connected on a right-wing 3-pointer to put the Buckeyes on the board.Just 59 seconds later, fifth-year guard Dale Bonner pump faked beyond the arc, took a step to his left and drilled a top-of-the-key 3-pointer, cutting Ohio State’s early deficit to one.

Midway through the first half, senior forward Zed Key made a turnaround hook shot, giving Ohio State its first lead of the game, 14-12.

The Buckeyes kept it rolling from there. 

Ohio State’s suffocating defense showed, contesting most of the Hokies’ field goals. After Key stole the ball away off a Virginia Tech inbound, freshman forward Devin Royal jammed it home with two hands on the other end, extending Ohio State’s lead to 11 with 2:29 left until the break.

The Buckeyes took a 36-26 lead into the half. Ohio State had eight first-half scorers led by Gayle who had nine. 

Ohio State sophomore center Felix Okpara continued the high-quality defensive play for the Buckeyes as he swatted a shot from Virginia Tech sophomore guard/forward Tyler Nickel. 

Sophomore guard and Ohio State’s leading scorer  Bruce Thornton secured the defensive rebound and threw an alley-oop to Okpara on the other end, increasing the Buckeyes’ lead to 42-32 with 17:18 left in the game. 

Okpara said he tries to be as aggressive as possible defensively.

“I block shots, I just try to go help my teammates and create more possessions for us,” Okpara said. 

Despite a missed 3-pointer by Battle, Royal dove out of bounds while tipping back an offensive rebound, leading to a Thornton and-1 floater. After the successful free throw, Ohio State was ahead 48-36 with 13:22 remaining.

The Hokies brought it close.

With 4:51 left in the game, Kidd went up in the paint, made a layup against Gayle and drew the foul. After making the free throw, Virginia Tech was suddenly within one possession, only trailing 67-64.

However, Ohio State pulled away thanks to a two-handed slam by Okpara with 2:59 to go and a driving, right-handed layup by Gayle with just over a minute to play, extending the Buckeye lead to an insurmountable 74-66.

Both teams combined for 32 fouls and 45 free throws in the second half, but the Buckeyes were able to capitalize in the final minutes. 

“We’re just focused on what’s next,” Battle said. “I think for us, we’ll come in [Sunday], workout, recover and then we’ll figure out who we play [Sunday] night.”

The Buckeyes will take on the winner of Sunday’s 4 p.m. matchup between No. 4-seeded Georgia and No. 1-seeded Wake Forest on Tuesday at 7 p.m.