Ques Glover takes a shot from behind the arc over Michigan State’s Tre Holloman. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Scott Stuart)
Michigan State held down Ohio State’s top scorers and answered a big second-half run with a finishing stretch that sent the Buckeyes to their second Big Ten loss.
Columbus, OH – Ohio State’s second-half comeback electrified the Value City Arena crowd more than at any point this season.
Down by 14 to Michigan State, the Buckeyes – through their own defensive will and the will of a supportive and on-its-feet crowd – rallied to a one-point lead with a 21-6 run.
“Once they got loud, you could feel a difference in the team – just us locked in – and that led us to going on a run,” sophomore forward Sean Stewart said. “And then we got into the timeout, we’re all locked in.”
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
If it had only been enough.
Tom Izzo walked into the postgame media room with the answer for why his experienced Spartans quieted the crowd, stopped Ohio State’s mojo and won the final eight minutes and the game 69-62.
The Minster Bank proudly sponsors your favorite sports stories on Press Pros Magazine.
“Sometimes players have the best things to say,” he said. “And I thought Jaden Akins said it best in our locker room. He said last year these are games we lost.”
And this year for Ohio State, the Big Ten season will go as the Buckeyes go in learning how to close games like this one with the same poise and execution that the No. 18 Spartans showed.
“We just got to keep building on that, not letting them get that lead back in that situation,” Stewart said.
But the typically tenacious Spartans (12-2, 3-0 Big Ten), a team with more players back from last year than Ohio State (9-5, 1-2), withstood a mini five-point rally by Micah Parrish and outscored the Buckeyes 20-12 down the stretch in the final eight minutes.
When Bruce Thornton hit a foul-line jumper with 8:47 left, the Buckeyes led 50-49. They got there with defensive stops – turnovers and rebounds – that created pace and presented them with their best chances to score. But when those opportunities dwindled in the final eight minutes and the Buckeyes were forced to score out of half-court sets, their offensive efficiency plummeted to its first-half form.
The Buckeyes had moments of physicality in the lane, but Michigan State dominated in the paint, scoring 38 points from close range.
Before the Spartans regained the lead for good at 52-50 on a three-point play, the Buckeyes’ next six scoring chances went like this: turnover, missed jump shot, turnover. Then another missed shot, a Michigan State 3-pointer, a missed layup and a bad pass. Then 57-50.
“That moment of the game we needed to be more poised offensively,” Buckeyes coach Jake Diebler said. “This league requires you to be your best every night, and we just weren’t our best enough.”
The Buckeyes suffered through their third worst shooting night of the season at 36.7% and had their second worst 3-point shooting night at 25.9% (7 for 27). A big reason was because the Spartans held point guard Thornton to nine shots, 10 points and cajoled him into a season-high five turnovers.
The Spartans’ tactic – spearheaded by Jeremy Fears Jr. and a lot of switching on screens – often kept the ball away from Thornton to stall possessions. And they kept him out of the lane with help from other defenders.
Wilson Health proudly sponsors your favorite area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
“We did an incredible job on Thornton,” Izzo said. “I love Thornton. I think he’s one of the best guards in the league.”
The Buckeyes struggled to score in the first half and trailed 37-29 at the half. The only time they found rhythm was during the 21-6 run. The Spartans always strive to make the opponent uncomfortable, and for most of the game they did that. That made the Buckeyes uncharacteristically play too much one-on-one.
It was sloppy play on both sides, with the teams posting a combined 32 turnovers on the night.
“We had opportunities to get them in rotation and the ball stuck,” Diebler said. “We could have swung it one more pass, now we’re attacking a long close out.”
Instead, the shot clock seemed to speed up, tough shots to beat the clock were forced, and half-court offense, except for a few occasions, lacked pace and rhythm.
“We would get the ball moved that first pass and we held it, which we hadn’t really done in the last couple weeks,” Diebler said. “We’ve been really good at keeping it moving. There’s no question we learned hard lesson in stretches of this game by not moving it.”
The fast-moving offense the Buckeyes have shown usually creates lots of scoring opportunities for Devin Royal to catch the ball in the post or to attack off the dribble with his quick first step. But like Thornton, when Royal got the ball, help defenders were waiting. He did get loose for two strong moves to the basket for points, but he scored only eight points and took only six shots.
Chances are, the best lawn on your block is an Ever-Green lawn. Call us at 937-335-6418!
The always big and physical Spartans got a big spark from 7-foot senior center Szymon Zapala from Poland. Zapala made all but one of his eight shots (with a couple big dunks) and scored a game-high 15 points. He scored the first six points of the second half to push the Spartans’ lead to 43-29.
Evan Mahaffey towers over teammate Aaron Bradshaw to slap away a pass by Sparty’s Szymon Zapala.
Then the Ohio State comeback began.
Thornton found room to make a 3-pointer to cut the Spartans’ lead to 47-37 with 13:07 left. And the crowd took notice with a roar. Three free throws by Thornton cut the lead to 47-40 and the crowd stood and raised its volume.
Zapala missed a dunk to the crowd’s delight. And after Stewart stole a pass at the top of the key intended for Zapala and dunked, the fans hit crazy on the crowd meter. Izzo called timeout up 47-43 with 11:58 left.
That timeout didn’t work. Stewart’s putback made the score 49-45. John Mobley Jr. finally made a 3-pointer after five misses and the roar grew. Then Thornton’s go-ahead bucket didn’t signify what the fans expected.
Izzo called timeout, the Spartans got serious again on defense, made some big shots and won a game they would have lost last season.
The Buckeyes now travel to Minnesota – never an easy place to play. They don’t want to slip to 1-3 in the Big Ten.
“I’m not too worried about our confidence,” Diebler said. “The film works both ways. It can drive home and reiterate the things you do well, and we need to keep growing and doing them more, especially against Big 10 teams.”
And most especially in the final minutes.
Logan Services, in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus, is a proud sponsor of area sports on Press Pros.