Roddy Gayle, Jr., dislodges the ball from Cornell’s Nazir Williams, one of many critical turnovers committed in the second half that allowed OSU to survive and advance. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
It was nothing like what most imagined. A tough-minded and talented Cornell team from the Ivy League pushed Ohio State to the limit before bowing at the end, 88-83.
Columbus, OH – Moments after the Ohio State Buckeyes finished off Cornell, 88-83, in the opening round of NIT Tournament Tuesday night, the video board above the court at Value City Arena flashed the message…Buckeyes Chew Up Big Red!
Hardly.
The pregame announcement of the starting lineup including a standing ovation for newly anointed head coach Jake Diebler – respect for what he did in an interim status, of course, and best wishes for many happy returns.
But Cornell (22-8) was not impressed, or interested, in a Horatio Alger story. No rags to riches for them. They were here to win, or at least make a case of themselves and the way they play the game.
And boy…did they play the game!
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If you’re knowledgeable about Ivy League basketball, and Princeton University, or Penn, you’re aware of patience, passing, spacing of the court, and one back door cut after another to the rim. That’s Cornell basketball.
Isaiah Gray walks off in disbelief after a stellar performance on the court that was marred only by two late stumbles. Gray incurred a technical for taunting, followed by a missed layup that would have cut Big Red’s late second half deficit to 1.
On top of that, the ‘Big Red’ had eight players on their roster all capable of scoring, despite missing their leading scorer with an ankle injury. And all eight proved that they could, and would, shoot the three-point shot.
They jumped on the Buckeyes early, guard Cooper Noard canning a pair of long three-pointers to give Cornell a 12-6 lead five minutes in.
By eight minutes in they increased their lead to 19-9.
And were it not for a pair of Bruce Thornton 3s midway through the first half, they could have really been off and running – so frustrating their style, and with a bit of arrogance playing as the bottom rail on top of a Big Ten team. And not just any Big Ten team. This was Ohio State!
“We played games this year that kinda’ prepped us for this,” said Jamison Battle, whose big three-point shot at the end proved to be the back breaker. “They play the Ivy League style, you don’t see that many back cuts usually, but they were good. They had good players. And they were well prepared.”
Thornton’s 3s broke the ice of confusion on defense, and finally broke OSU out on top at 6:50 of the first half, 26-24. But Cornell was quick to answer – back door cuts and three-point shooting by Guy Ragland, Jr., who seemed to know no shame in terms of range.
AK Okereke tries to play keep away from OSU’s Bruce Thornton.
Jamison Battle would answer for Ohio State, with back-t0-back 3s at the 1:46 mark to pave the way to a 44-38 halftime lead. But the lead was not long-lived, even though Ohio State got nearly every rebound imaginable in the first half…a 32-16 margin.
Again, Cornell came out of the halftime locker room back-cuttin’ and shootin’ the three. A guard named Isaiah Gray took on the competitive identity, attacking the rim for 19 points and rallying his guys to follow his lead.
They went on an 11-3 run that saw them take a 51-44 lead.
Battle and Roddy Gayle would cut that to 57-56 by the 13:00 mark, however Gayle suddenly found himself with four fouls…and Bruce Thornton would go to the bench for the rest of the game with a sprained ankle.
They continued to trade leads, Ohio State would continue to struggle defensively to keep tabs on Gray and his mates, along with matters of replacements off the bench. Cornell had the kind of depth off the bench where they could substitute like a hockey team and keep bodies out there shooting the three.
But credit to Jake Diebler, who later admitted to feeling a little vulnerable…his first tournament game and situation as a head coach where it was win-or-go-home.
Head Coach Jake Diebler gets fired up as his squad finally creates a little distance at the end of the first half.
“On a quick turnaround like we had it was hard to prepare,” he said. “Credit to our guys for the way they made the adjustments.”
OSU went on a 9-5 run inside seven minutes to take a 69-66 lead. But Cornell kept shooting the threes…and making them. Whatever the adjustment was, no one in the Big Ten played this style of basketball.
“They had great chemistry and skill,” said Diebler. “The closest team we would see in league would be Nebraska, with a big that could shoot, like Cornell’s, and the five-out spacing, the cutting and the three-point field goal attempts.”
The Buckeyes and Diebler seemed to figure it out just in time. Gray missed two open layup attempts in the final five minutes that cost Cornell four points. But still, the game was tied again late before a CLUTCH three-pointer by Battle with 41 seconds left gave Ohio State the final lead.
Devin Royal added two points off a turnover.
And Evan Mahaffey cashed in a pair of free throws to account for the final margin, 88-83.
Battle and Roddy Gayle each had 17 points to lead the Buckeyes, while Felix Okpara added 16, and Royal finished with 13 – four players in double figures.
Isaiah Gray, despite having missed three layups that would have spelled a difference, had a game-high 19 points. Ragland, the unconscionable three-point shooter, had 17. Cornell showed their depth and skill by matching Ohio State with four double-figure scorers.
But little things cost Cornell in their quest to knock off a Big Ten team on national TV and in the process make a case for themselves, and the bottom rail being on top!
They got outrebounded 52-32. Huge in a game where they had little or no second chance points on the offensive boards.
Evan Mahaffey goes to the glass around Cornell defender Sean Hansen.
Cornell’s biggest lead was 10….Ohio State’s was 7.
Everything else – turnovers, points in the paint, fast break points, and points off the bench were veritably even.
Ohio State outscored them 44-38 in the first half. Cornell outscored Ohio State in the second half, 45-44.
The Diebler touch, at least until the weekend when they play their second-round game, lives on. All questions as to how, and why, or why not, survive until proven otherwise on the court.
Cornell couldn’t do it, though they gave it one helluva’ try, and an entertaining one at that.
“What a game,” an OSU fan exhaled as he headed for an exit.
Indeed. But one can hardly make the claim…that the Buckeyes chewed up ‘Big Red’.
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