Dale Bonner’s buzzer-beating shot in East Lansing snapped the Buckeyes’ 17-game road losing streak. (Press Pros File Photos)
With seldom-used freshman Devin Royal displaying his Mr. Basketball chops and OSU’s Buckeyes playing free and loose even amid adversity, interim coach Jake Diebler pulled another rabbit out of his hat Sunday at Michigan State.
East Lansing, MI – In a season that’s driven its fan base to pound the table in frustration when not brought to its knees in desperation, two similar images over the last eight days have surfaced to tell a much different story about an Ohio State season gone horribly wrong.
Much like the aftermath of a shocking upset of No. 2 Purdue in interim coach Jake Diebler’s first game last week – a result that so overwhelmed Diebler he fell to a knee to compose himself – Dale Bonner’s game-winning three-pointer yesterday at Michigan State put Diebler flat on his stomach and slamming his palm into the floor in dumbfounded delirium, following the Buckeyes 60-57 win in East Lansing.
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Bonner’s triple with 0.2 seconds left ended a possession in which OSU’s Devin Royal barely beat the five-second count with his inbounds to Bruce Thornton, who dribbled toward the timeline and lofted to Bonner, tightly-guarded by MSU’s Tyson Walker.
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Bonner slammed on the brakes to free himself just enough to fade and loft over Walker’s arm, extended skyward. The shot, taken from directly in front of the Ohio State bench, ripped through the nets to end the Buckeyes’ school-record 17-game road losing streak and bring teammates streaming onto the floor in celebration.
“We were trying to get the ball to Thornton on the run.” Diebler said. “They doubled him. The poise of Devin Royal, taking the ball out of bounds, was incredible.
“He got it to Bruce somehow. Bruce’s clock awareness got it to Dale…Dale’s clock awareness, that’s players making plays and players stepping up, it was just unbelievable poise they showed down the stretch.
The Buckeyes (6-11 Big Ten, 16-12 overall) had lost nine in a row at the Breslin Center, dating to William Buford’s game-winning jumper from just inside the three-point line with 0.8 seconds left in a 72-20 triumph over the Spartans that secured a share of the 2012 conference title.
OSU had such aspirations this season before it lapsed into another awful January under seventh-year head coach Chris Holtmann, who it fired days before the upset of Purdue.
Diebler has since coached the Buckeyes to a pair of improbable wins around an all-too-familiar desultory loss Thursday at Minnesota, where OSU never led even once.
The same fate threatened to unravel yesterday when starter Jamison Battle couldn’t play on a sprained right ankle and the Buckeyes suffered through a 24% shooting in the first half.
MSU, however, shows no signs of being a typical Tom Izzo team that’s about to unleash its fury in March. The Spartans (9-8, 17-11) made only 41% of their shots through 20 minutes and led by only 10 at the break.
Ohio’s ‘Mr. Basketball’ from last year, Devin Royal scored a season-high 14 points against Michigan State.
That margin survived, melted a bit, then rebuilt to as many as 12 points in the second half’s initial five minutes until Bonner hit just the Buckeyes’ second three-pointer of the game at 14:22.
OSU wouldn’t hit another until his game-winner, going a collective 3-of-17, but stayed within range thanks to a season-high 14 points from Royal, including 10 in the second half.
Ohio’s reigning Mr. Basketball, Royal was mostly left to languish on the bench by Holtmann throughout the entirety of the season until Diebler took over.
Diebler, who must know he has zero chance of becoming the full-time head coach after the season, has been more liberal with minutes to previously-forgotten freshmen and has so far reaped the benefits of it.
After MSU extended its margin to 48-36 at the 12-minute mark, Royal scored six points and fed Felix Okpara for another bucket that helped OSU draw within 52-46 at 8:48.
An extended drought by both teams took hold after another Okpara score at 6:01 got the Buckeyes within 52-51.
Royal scored in close at 1:11 to again get OSU within one, 56-55, then Bonner stole a possession after an MSU offensive rebound under its basket at 31.1.
Roddy Gayle Jr.’s free throws at 11.9 put the Buckeyes in front for the first time, 57-56, but Walker got fouled in the lane with 6.4 seconds left and a chance to change that.
His first attempt hit the front of the rim, then wedged between the rim and backboard, but his second went through cleanly and forged the tie that Bonner fractured with his timely triple.
“The response we had in the second half, after things didn’t go out way in the first half, was really impressive,” Diebler said. “Our guys just kept swinging. I’m so proud of them.”
Besides Royal’s season high, OSU got 12 points and eight rebounds from Gayle, 11 points from Thornton and 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks from Okpara.
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