After defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers in a significant nonconference game, the Ohio State Buckeyes’ backcourt maintained its dominant play.
On Saturday, Ohio State (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers (5-8, 0-0 Big 12) 78-75 in overtime to win its third straight game.
Ohio State had a comfortable lead going into the first half, but West Virginia rallied late to cut the deficit to two points at the end of the first.
After shooting poorly in the first half, both teams improved in the second and carried this momentum into overtime.
Ohio State maintained composure and trailed for just one minute and thirteen seconds over the entire contest.
Buckeye sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. led the way for Ohio State, posting a career-high 32 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Senior guard Jamison Battle poured in points from beyond the arc, shooting 5-11 from 3-point land.
Overall, the Buckeye backcourt stayed steady on defense as it has all season, combining for seven steals. Despite allowing 47 points from the Mountaineer backcourt of seniors RaeQuan Battle, Noah Farrakhan, and Kerr Kriisa, this was eight points less than their combined averages for the season.
In addition, Ohio State held West Virginia to less than 43 percent shooting and 23 percent from 3.
However, the Buckeyes only shot 36-32 overall and missed 10 free throws, allowing the Mountaineers to stay in the game and force overtime.
It ended up being three 3-pointers from Battle, Gayle, and sophomore guard Bruce Thornton, which allowed Ohio State to claim the victory in overtime. The backcourt trio remained aggressive on the glass, combining for 23 of the team’s 47 rebounds.
As Ohio State enters 2024, they look like one of the teams to beat in the Big Ten as their backcourt comes to fruition and defensive X-factors like sophomore forward Evan Mahaffey and senior guard Dale Bonner begin to take their leaps.
The Buckeyes will return home Wednesday to play the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-4, 0-1 Big Ten) at Value City Arena at 4 p.m., streaming on the Big Ten Network.
