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Late comeback not enough for Ohio State in loss to Gonzaga

BOISE, Idaho - After a 27-point loss to Gonzaga in November, Ohio State had an opportunity to prove to the Bulldogs and to college basketball that it was a different team. In the second-round of the NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes showed that. However, the Bulldogs still ended their season.

Gonzaga defeated Ohio State 90-84 in the second round of the tournament, keeping the Buckeyes away from its sixth trip to the Sweet Sixteen since 2000.

In his final game of the season, forward Keita Bates-Diop led the Buckeyes with 28 points, making 10 of 21 attempts from the field, including four of nine from three-point range. Guard Kam Williams, who played in his final game of his collegiate career, had 19 points, making 50 percent of his attempts from three.

In their quest for redemption, the Buckeyes did not get off to a good start. Ohio State missed its first seven shots from the field, recording four turnovers. While the Buckeyes struggled to get anything going offensively, Gonzaga took advantage, connecting on six of its first nine attempts from the field, taking an early 15-0 lead.

Even before they recorded its first basket of the game, the Buckeyes lost an important player. Matching up against Gonzaga forward Johnathan Williams, Ohio State forward Kaleb Wesson recorded two fouls in just over three minutes, sending him to the bench. With those two fouls, Wesson played only seven minutes in the first half, recording two turnovers and a steal while missing both of his attempts from the field.

Without Wesson and without a point, Ohio State still had a positive attitude early in the first half.

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Guard Kam Williams battles for a ball in Ohio State's loss to Gonzaga in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
Guard Kam Williams battles for a ball in Ohio State's loss to Gonzaga in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. (USA Today Sports Images)

"It's a long game, 40 minutes, it's a lot of possessions, you've got to keep chipping away and keep staying positive," Williams said. "You have to believe in yourself and your brothers. Anything is possible."

Ohio State did not have its first points of the game until 14:20 left in the first half with forward Jae’Sean Tate connecting on a three. This began an 11-4 run for the Buckeyes, who made all four of their next shot attempts from the field, lessening the deficit to 19-11.

However, with Wesson on the bench due to foul trouble, the Buckeyes failed to make much of an impact inside the three-point line. Despite making five of 11 attempts from deep in the first half, Ohio State did not record its first points in the paint until the 7:18 mark. With 10 points in the paint going into halftime, shooting only 35 percent from inside the three-point line, the Buckeyes were also losing the rebound battle with Gonzaga recording four more rebounds in the first half.

With important three-point makes from Bates-Diop, who had 14 points in the first half, and Potter, the Buckeyes cut it down to seven with 3:56 to go in the half. However, with a Gonzaga offense that Ohio State could not stop, shooting 58.1 percent from the field and making six of 12 attempts from deep, the Bulldogs went into halftime with a 44-33 lead.

With Wesson back on the floor, Ohio State had a completely different start to the second half than the first. With both guards, Williams and C.J. Jackson, connecting on shots from deep, the Buckeyes went on a 13-4 run, cutting their deficit down to two.

However, Wesson did not stay on the court very long. The freshman forward recorded two more quick fouls to start the second half, sending him back to the bench. He finished with three points and a rebound in only 12 minutes of play.

The offense continued with the Buckeyes’ big man on the bench. Ohio State, with another three-point make from Jackson and a jumper from Bates-Diop, came within one, trailing Gonzaga 54-53 with 11:49 left in the game.

Just over one minute later, Williams gave Ohio State its first lead of the game, making his third three of the game. Tate quickly answered with a steal and a dunk, giving the Buckeyes a 58-54 lead after the quick 7-0 run.

With Ohio State's lead up to five with 6:02 left in the game, Gonzaga came back the way the Buckeyes earned its lead in the first place. Bulldogs guard Zach Norvell Jr. hit his fourth three of the game to start an 8-0 run, giving them the 70-67 lead.

With Gonzaga leading by 10 with 41 seconds left, Ohio State showed it still had some life left, cutting their deficit to five with 16 seconds left. However, Gonzaga, with a dunk by forward Rui Hachimura, secured its six-point win.

Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann called the two three-point makes from Hachimura and Norvell crushing.

"Their two 3s were really the difference," Holtmann said. "Zach's 3 in the corner off, it looked like, a step-back corner 3 that was really well defended by Andre Wesson was a crushing blow. And then obviously 21's 3 there -- I think it's the first one he's made since December."

The Buckeyes ended its season with 25 regular season wins in the first season under Holtmann, winning 15 of 18 games in Big Ten play.

Despite the loss, Holtmann is very proud of what his team accomplished, especially after Ohio State's first loss to Gonzaga in November.

"This group really turned a corner at some point. And I think it was maybe after the PK-80," Holtmann said. "And after the Clemson game it turned a corner and flipped the switch and we were really never the same. And it was all positive. We just kept growing together. I've been proud of a lot of teams but this one is up there."

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