Ohio State Buckeyes Battle Down to Wire in Loss to Georgia Bulldogs

The Ohio State Buckeyes battled an extremely close one with the Georgia Bulldogs.

Jamison Battle excelled in what was likely his last home game for the Buckeyes. / Rich Schultz/GettyImages

After a back-and-forth affair vs. the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday, the Ohio State Buckeyes season is officially over, falling to the SEC foe 79-77 in Columbus.

From the tip, the Bulldogs started shooting in heavily. Mike White’s crew started 0-3 from beyond the arc but the Buckeyes were not scoring either.

When Georgia started hitting, then Ohio State did too to keep themselves in the game. However, rather than swinging the ball like the Buckeyes normally do to find an open shot, there was a lot of stagnation for both teams with a lot of iso ball.

Ohio State v Rutgers / Rich Schultz/GettyImages

The primary reason for this was the great perimeter defense on both ends — sophomore guard Bruce Thornton found it difficult to penetrate the exterior, and the Buckeyes inevitably threw the ball away on several possessions. The Bulldogs also found it tough to get inside until late in the quarter.

The last seven minutes were an offensive battle — the teams consistently traded buckets but the Buckeyes sent the crowd into a frenzy of back-to-back big possessions. First, sophomore forward Evan Mahaffey picked up a steal and turned it into one of three, first-half alley-oop dunks for sophomore forward Felix Okpara. On the very next possession off a Georgia missed three, senior forward Jamison Battle kicked it to Thornton, who gave it back to Battle for a transition three.

Out of a late timeout, Thornton hit fellow sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. for an alley-oop but the Buckeyes trailed by one at the half.

The second half was truly just a game of momentum.

The Bulldogs dominated out of the locker room, starting the half on a 10-2 run triggered by 11 combined quick points from a backcourt of freshman Blue Cain and graduate Noah Thomasson.

But out of their timeout, the Buckeyes went on a quick 8-0 run of their own — senior big Zed Key dominated the offensive glass, picking up offensive boards on back-to-back possessions and finishing with an and-1 bucket. On the other end, Battle and freshman forward Devin Royal forced a turnover and block, respectively, leading to a Battle 3-pointer on the other end in transition.

But out of the Bulldogs’ timeout, they went on yet another big run, this time for nine unanswered, starting with back-to-back and-one finishes.

And so it went — Ohio State went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to four, headed by a three and a backdoor dunk from Battle. The lights-out shooter would go for 22 points, including four threes.

But out of the timeout, the Buckeyes took back the lead thanks to a big three from senior guard Dale Bonner with just under six minutes remaining.

But they weren’t done yet. Ohio State overall went on a 17-0 run to take a five-point lead late, but Cain responded with a 3 under five minutes to cut the lead to three.

Just as it seemed there was a momentum shift favoring the Buckeyes, a new game started. Thomasson hit a three on the next possession after Cain. The two would combine for 38 points.

From then on, the teams went back and forth, back and forth every possession, trading leads until the Bulldogs took a one-point lead and the Buckeyes had to start fouling.

After Thornton missed a free throw down two, Cain turned the ball over going up the court and Bonner came up with a big steal with 10.1 seconds remaining. Thornton missed a three but the ball went out on the Bulldogs

Although Thornton didn’t score as he usually does, he distributed the ball at a very high rate, going for his second career double-double with 13 points, 10 assists, and just one turnover.

The Buckeyes have a lot to look forward to next season, notably with full-time head coach Jake Diebler, returning assistant coach Dave Dickerson, and a multitude of expected returners.