Ohio State Falls To North Carolina In Overtime, 89-84

The Buckeyes are now 0-3 all-time against the Tar Heels at the CBS Sports Classic.

Ohio State was just two seconds away from its first victory over North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic, but the Tar Heels tied it at the buzzer and then outscored the Buckeyes, 10-5, in overtime on their way to a 89-84 victory at Madison Square Garden.

Tough battle in the Garden.

Final/OT

OSU: 8️⃣4️⃣
UNC: 8️⃣9️⃣ pic.twitter.com/Fncr1F7pUp

— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) December 17, 2022

The Buckeyes were led offensively by freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh, who scored a team- and career-high 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds on Saturday afternoon. That includes his jumper in the closing seconds that appeared to give Ohio State the win.

North Carolina’s Pete Nance, who joined the program this offseason as a transfer from Northwestern, then hit a turnaround jumper as time expired to send it to overtime. That’s when the Buckeyes seemingly ran out of gas against the reigning national runner-up. 

The Tar Heels, meanwhile, had three players in double figures, including preseason All-American Armando Bacot (28) and guards Caleb Love (22) and R.J. Davis (21), as they handed the Buckeyes their third loss of the season.

First Half:

Ohio State got on the board first, as junior center Zed Key knocked down a three-pointer as the shot clock expired, but North Carolina went on an 11-3 run take a five-point lead into the under-16 timeout.

The Buckeyes battled back with an 11-1 run of their own, including seven points from Sensabaugh to take a 19-14 lead with 11:34 remaining in the first half.

Freshman center Felix Okpara blocked Bacot's shot attempt and knocked down a layup at the other end. Senior guard Tanner Holden then hit a corner three-pointer to stretch the lead to eight.

Sixth-year senior forward Justice Sueing and Holden made buckets on back-to-back possessions as part of an 18-2 run for the Buckeyes as the Tar Heels missed eight consecutive shots over a five-minute period.

Ohio State stretched its lead to 14 with three-pointers by Sensabaugh and freshman guard Bruce Thornton, but Sensabuagh picked up his third foul on a Bacot and-one and North Carolina took advantage.

Bacot scored 10 straight for the Tar Heels to trim the lead to five with three minutes remaining before Thornton connected on a three-pointer. Sueing hit a three in the closing seconds to put it back to nine.

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Second Half:

North Carolina opened the second half on a 10-2 run to cut Ohio State’s lead to 46-45 with 16:27 remaining. That includes a dunk by Bacot, which gave him 18 points on the afternoon.

The Buckeyes built a small cushion after back-to-back baskets from Okpara and fifth-year senior guard Sean McNeil, who later knocked down a three-pointer to put them up 57-50 at the under-12 timeout.

Key’s basket over Bacot with 7:15 put Ohio State ahead by 11, but a pair of turnovers against the full-court press helped the Tar Heels cut the deficit to three points at the 5:31 mark.

North Carolina tied the game at 72-all with just over two minutes remaining on a layup from Davis, who then hit a three-pointer on the next possession after a Sueing layup to put the Tar Heels ahead, 75-74

Key's three-pointer put Ohio State up by two, but Bacot tied it with a dunk with 17 seconds left. Sensabaugh then knocked down what would have been the game-winner with two seconds left, but Nance's jumper sent it to overtime.

Overtime:

The Tar Heels built a four-point lead in the early going before Thornton’s layup and free throw put the Buckeyes down one. Love's jumper gave North Carolina a three-point lead with 2:32 left.

Okpara fouled out, sending Davis to the line for two shots, which he promptly knocked down to give the Tar Heels a five-point advantage with 1:19 remaining, which was their biggest lead of the game.

Sensabaugh’s jumper with 49 seconds remaining trimmed it to three, but Key was called for a travel while attempting a three-pointer. Davis hit a pair of free throws at the other end to reach the final score.

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