The Ohio State Buckeyes (11-4, 3-2) used a 24-3 run in the second half to take down the Oregon Ducks (8-8, 1-4) 72-62 in a late tip on the West Coast.
The Buckeyes were coming off a close loss to the undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers Monday night, and Oregon was coming off a road loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
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John Mobley got the scoring going for Ohio State, as the sharpshooter knocked down a long three-pointer. The Buckeyes then got two buckets from freshman Amare Bynum. The Ducks struggled from the field to start this one, shooting 1-for-9 from the field at the first media timeout.A Devin Royal three-pointer gave the Buckeyes a 10-4 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the opening half. Both teams continued to struggle from the field and the Buckeyes led by as much as ten at 27-17 after two Gabe Cupps free throws.
Ohio State led 34-29 at the half. Bruce Thornton and Gabe Cupps led the Buckeyes with seven points each while Takai Simpkins and Wei Lin led Oregon with eight points each. Oregon leading scorer Nate Bittle had only two points on 1-for-11 shooting from the field in the opening half.
The Buckeyes struck first in the second half, but John Mobley picked up his third foul with 19 minutes left in the game. Gabe Cupps entered the game for Mobley. However, with 17 minutes left in the game, Nate Bittle picked up his third foul for Oregon and had to leave the game. Mobley reentered the game at the under 16 media timeout.
The Buckeyes then started to put their foot on the gas, going on a 16-3 run in the next five minutes to force an Oregon timeout. All in all, the Buckeyes went on a 24-3 run to go up 67-43. Oregon would answer with a 14-2 run in the closing minutes to cut the lead to 12, but they ran out of possessions and the Buckeyes went onto win 72-62.
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Here are moments that mattered in the Buckeyes win over Oregon.
Jackson Shelstad out for Oregon
Oregon’s star point guard Jackson Shelstad was listed as out (undisclosed) for this game after missing the Ducks’ last game against Rutgers. In 12 games played this season, Shelstad is averaging 15.6 points and 4.9 assists per game as the Ducks’ top player, along with center Nate Bittle.
Brandon Noel out for Ohio State
The Buckeyes have had good luck with injuries to this point in the season, but last game they lost reserve forward Brandon Noel for an undisclosed amount of time with a foot injury. He averages 7.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, but had 29 points against Northwestern and 14 points off the bench against Rutgers to help secure those key road conference wins.
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The Buckeyes see a familiar face
One of the guys that comes off the bench for Oregon is forward Sean Stewart, a former starter for Ohio State. Stewart played for the Buckeyes last season, starting and playing in 30 games and averaging 5.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 18.4 minutes per contest. For Oregon this season, he has played in all 15 games, starting in six and averages 6.6 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Stewart finished the game with five points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes, starting his seventh game of the season.
Slow start for Oregon
The absence of Shelstad was clear early on this for Oregon, as they started just 1-for-11 from the field and recorded only four points in the first nine minutes of the game.
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Two quick fouls for Mobley
The starting guard for Ohio State only played eight minutes in the opening half after picking up two fouls in the first seven minutes. In response to this, Gabe Cupps played 12 minutes in the first half and played his best half of the season.
Cupps would go on to finish with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting in 23 minutes. He also had four rebounds.
Strong finish to the half for Oregon
With three minutes left in the first half, Oregon was shooting 4-for-26 from the field. However, they closed the half shooting 5-for-6 from the field and on a 14-7 run to cut the Buckeye lead to five points at the halftime break.
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Buckeyes go on a 24-3 run
At the 15:07 mark, The Buckeyes led 43-40 as Oregon cut the deficit to just three points. Ten minutes later, Mobley hit three free throws to give Ohio State a 65-43 lead and finish off a 22-3 run in the middle of the second half.
The Buckeyes start 3-0 in road conference games
For the first time since 2017-18, the Buckeyes start conference play 3-0 in road games. It was against three of the lesser teams in the conference, but 3-0 is 3-0.
