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Fully intact Ohio State pulls away from Alabama A&M in second half for blowout win
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- Fully intact Ohio State pulls away from Alabama A&M in second half for blowout win
For the first time this season, Ohio State could hail, hail that the gang's all here.
Next time out, the Buckeyes will resume their efforts to win that old conference now. First, though, there was Alabama A&M to reckon with, and for about 20 minutes a reckoning appeared to be on the table. With both Isaac Likekele (personal reasons) and Gene Brown III (concussion protocol) available and in uniform , Ohio State (9-3) flirted with a significant upset for a half, turned things around in the second half and closed non-conference play with a 90-59 win Thursday afternoon at Value City Arena.
Dec 29, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, United States; Ohio State Buckeyes guard Tanner Holden (0) dunks while Alabama A&M Bulldogs guard Jayland Randall (0) watches during the second half of the NCAA division I basketball game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Scheller-The Columbus Dispatch
Multiple players experienced travel issues in their returns to campus after Christmas break, and Ohio State's first 20 minutes reflected a disjointed week leading into the game. The Bulldogs (4-9), ranked No. 327 nationally according to KenPom.com and owning only two wins against top-200 teams since the website's inception in 2001-02, briefly took lead late in the first half and created a few nervy moments among the home crowd.
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"I did not expect this to be a game where we were up 20 at half," Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. "I knew they have the ability to keep this thing really close."
The Buckeyes have now won 26 straight non-conference games at home, and while this would eventually become a blowout, it wasn't always pretty.
Dec 29, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, United States; Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) is defended by Alabama A&M Bulldogs center Olisa Blaise Akonobi (33) and guard Cameron Tucker (3) during the first half of the NCAA division I basketball game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Scheller-The Columbus Dispatch
When Brice Sensabaugh kicked things off with a 3-pointer, a floater and another jumper a few possessions later to give Ohio State a quick 9-4 lead, the Buckeyes looked to be off and running. The Bulldogs quickly countered with a 3-point flurry, knocking down three straight in the span of 1:08 to pull even at 13 with 13:54 to play in the half.
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It set a tone for struggles to come. Ohio State would steady itself and push its lead back up to seven points a 24-17 when Felix Okpara hit one of two free throws with 10:13 left, but poor foul shooting and Alabama A&M's pace paved the way for a Bulldog comeback. Graduate guard/forward Brandon Powell's 3-pointer with 1:51 remaining pushed the visitors ahead 32-31 for their first lead of the game, and Dailin Smith added a free throw on the next possession to make it 33-31 with about a minute to play.
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It got contentious enough that Holtmann inserted Likekele for the final 1:03 in an effort to help settle things down. It marked Likekele's first game action since the Dec. 3 win against St. Francis (Pa.), and he would play more significant minutes during the second half.
"We really needed another perimeter defender and other perimeter ball handler," Holtmann said. "Really. And I didn't want to play Bruce (Thornton) 35 minutes again. More than anything, I thought he could impact this game, and he did right away."
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Ohio State would close with a 5-0 run to reclaim the 36-33 lead going into the half, and the offensive momentum would carry over into the second half. Starting with two Thornton free throws to tie the game at 33 with 1:03 left in the first half, the Buckeyes would score on seven straight possessions capped by a Thornton driving make from the left corner to push their lead to 45-37 roughly three minutes into the second half.
It would grow from there as Ohio State scored on 14 of 17 possessions to turn that 33-31 deficit into a 60-43 lead when Zed Key hit a left-handed hook shot with 11:28 left, and from there the Bulldogs were overmatched. Ohio State outscored Alabama A&M 54-26 during the second half.
"It took a different energy," Ohio State's Tanner Holden said. "That was the biggest thing. Our energy was low first half on both sides of the ball. I think we came out with a different energy. Defensively, we started getting stops, getting rebounds, gang rebounding. Offensively we started moving the ball a little better."
Sensabaugh led the Buckeyes with 21 points, his third 20-plus-point game of the season. Key finished with 9 points and 10 rebounds while Justice Sueing had 18 points and hit multiple 3-pointers for the first time since the season opener.
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At the half, the Buckeyes led by only three despite having taken 15 more free throws than the Bulldogs. Ohio State was just 10 for 18 (55.6%) from the line compared to 2 for 3 (66.7%) for Alabama A&M.
Brown, who had missed the first 11 games with a concussion and subsequent return-to-play protocol, made his season debut with 11:22 remaining in the first half but would sub out with 9:28 left and not return until
Likekele had 2 points, five assists and two rebounds in eight minutes. Brown hit two free throws with 1:03 to play for his first points of the year.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Buckeyes ride strong second half to blast past Alabama A&M
