For the second time in a little over two weeks, the Buckeyes knocked off a Rutgers team ranked in the top 15 on Saturday.

Despite losing starting point guard CJ Walker to a hand injury entering the matchup, Ohio State (9-3, 3-3 Big Ten) overcompensated with an impressive shooting display for most of the contest to beat the reeling No. 15 Scarlet Knights (7-4, 3-4 Big Ten) 79-68 in Piscataway, New Jersey.

"If you're gonna play a top-15 team anywhere, I think you've got to start well early. And we started well early," Buckeye head coach Chris Holtmann said. "I give that starting group a lot of credit."

Ohio State rode one of its hottest offensive halves of the season to a 42-30 lead over Rutgers at halftime, finishing on a 22-4 run over the final 7:29 of play, and the separation only continued to start the second half.

Senior forward Kyle Young’s third 3-pointer of the season extended the Buckeyes’ lead to 17 points in the opening 90 seconds of the second period, and another triple from junior guard Duane Washington pushed the Ohio State advantage to 52-32 a couple minutes later.

The Scarlet Knights did mount a late push though, cutting the Ohio State lead to eight points with a minute to play in the game, but it was too little too late for head coach Steve Pikiell’s group.

"We didn't finish the game like we needed to –– that's my fault," Holtmann said. "But we certainly played well for large stretches."

Four Buckeyes finished in double-digit scoring, as Young, Washington, sophomore forward E.J. Liddell and redshirt junior forward Justice Sueing combined to score 57 points for the Buckeyes on the day.

Washington led the way with 17 points, and Liddell was right behind him 15 of his own.

Rutgers forward Ron Harper Jr., who entered scoring better than 21 points per game, finished with just 11 points Saturday.

Three of Washington’s four first-half field goals came from 3-point range, as the Buckeyes shot 50 percent from deep in the opening 20 minutes, and all of Washington’s connections were key in swinging the momentum toward the Scarlet and Gray.

His first hit tied the game 26-all with 6:39 to play, his second extended an Ohio State run to 12-0 a couple minutes later, and Washington’s third, a contested stepback off the dribble, gave the Buckeyes their largest lead of the game to that point with 42 seconds left in the half.

"How we came out with own energy and intensity was better," Young said. "We were more committed to what we were doing with setting the tone, so you definitely could tell the difference when that happens, and that's something we need to continue to improve on."

The Buckeyes began the game hitting 7-of-9 attempts from the field, but Rutgers mounted a 10-0 run of its own through the middle of the half, and eventually took a 26-20 lead after two 3s from Scarlet Knight guard Caleb McConnell.

However, the subsequent Ohio State run wiped out any Scarlet Knight momentum before the intermission.

Ohio State guard Jimmy Sotos, who started the game in place of Walker at the point, knocked down his first two 3-point attempts of the game to give the Buckeyes an early lift. However, Sotos left the game with a shoulder injury in the second half.

"I thought he defended well, I thought he created offense with his ability to get in the lane, I thought his decision-making was good," Holtmann said.

Ohio State returns to Columbus on Wednesday to close out its season set with Northwestern.