That was a little more like it. The Ohio State basketball team was on a three-game losing streak heading into the home contest against Penn State on Saturday and ended it with what will hopefully be a start to a winning one.
The Buckeyes put their foot on the gas from the start, racing out to a 16-point lead thanks to some good defense, then held on the rest of the way, never trailing enroute to a 79-67 victory in front of the home crowd.
Roddy Gayle Jr. and Evan Mahaffey led OSU with 16 points a piece. Jamison Battle poured in 11 points and Zed Key scored 10 to make it four Ohio State players in double figures. Another bright spot that we’ll hopefully start to see more was last year’s Mr. Basketball of Ohio, Devin Royal, who came off the bench to contribute eight points.
Back in the Win Column 😀
4️⃣ Buckeyes scored double digits tonight ‼️#Team125 | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/TEJrjO5vm3
— Ohio State Hoops 🌰 (@OhioStateHoops) January 20, 2024
Ohio State struggled from 3-point range, knocking down just 3-of-18, but made up for it by outrebounding Penn State 34-25 and making 22-of-25 free throws to just 4-of-5 made by the Nittany Lions.
With the victory, the Buckeyes improve their record to 13-5 overall, and 3-4 in the Big Ten. The next contest will be on the road at Nebraska on Tuesday.
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