No. 23 Ohio State survives scare against UMass Lowell 74-64

COLUMBUS, Ohio –– Ohio State men’s basketball found itself in a position it likely didn’t expect to be against UMass Lowell on Sunday: trailing in the second half.

But regardless of whether or not the No. 23 Buckeyes (0-2) expected it, they responded late to pull out an ugly win behind 21 points from junior guard Duane Washington as they handed the River Hawks (1-2) their second loss in as many days, 74-64 in the Covelli Center.

"Give our guys a lot of credit for finishing the game and making the necessary plays that you need to," Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said after the game. "Obviously we got to do a lot of things better. We got to do a lot of things better; that begins with me."

The game was tied 33-33 at the half, but Ohio State retook the lead at the 9:35 mark when Ohio State forward Justice Sueing was fouled on a transition layup attempt that resulted in a technical on UMass Lowell forward Connor Withers, who fouled out the sequence.

Despite struggling offensively for much of the game, Ohio State guard CJ Walker nailed a fadeaway mid-range jumper over a River Hawk defender with 2:28 to play to keep the Buckeyes up two possessions late.

A 3 from Washington from the wing at the 1:08 mark sealed the deal for Ohio State, pushing the lead to seven in a game that the Buckeyes seemed destined to cough up at various points.

"Today I was put in a position to take a big shot towards the end, and I put it in with confidence," Washington said. "I definitely believe in myself with the highest ability in that regard. I know the coaches believe in me as well, I know the players believe in me as well."

Ohio State missed five-straight field goals over a three-minute stretch to start the second half, and UMass Lowell capitalized with an 8-0 run that featured two 3-pointers to send the Buckeyes into the first timeout of the period down 41-36.

UMass Lowell guard Obadiah Noel nailed a 3 from the wing to tie the game 59-59 with 5:59 to play, but Ohio State forward E.J. Liddell answered on the other end with a layup to take the lead, and an and-one by Sueing extended the lead to four after a missed free throw.

Poor shooting and a litany of fouls handicapped the Buckeyes for much of the game, as Ohio State shot just 40 percent and finished the contest with 18 team fouls.

The River Hawks slowed the game down early, picking up four team fouls in the first 3:11 of game time, and mixed in zone looks defensively while the Buckeyes struggled to find the range outside.

"I just don't think we attacked the zone really well. I thought it slowed us down, I did not think our pace in attacking it was very good," Holtmann said. "We've obviously got to work on it, it's our first time seeing almost 35 minutes of zone."

Ohio State started 0-for-11 from 3-point land, while UMass Lowell’s six makes on 15 attempts from outside in the first half helped keep the game well within striking distance.

The Buckeyes had two cracks at a final shot to end the half, but missed them both, and on the other end, Noel dished to sophomore forward Darion Jordan-Thomas for a layup to make it 33-33 at the buzzer.

It wasn’t a smooth-sailing affair for either team from the field, as Ohio State and UMass Lowell combined to go 21-for-60 in the first half, with the Buckeyes shooting a mere 34.4 percent, and the River Hawks just a shade better at 35.7.

Ohio State traded in long-range success with an aggressive approach that saw the Buckeyes shoot 14 free throws in the first half, hitting 11 of them for a third of their total offensive output in the period.

Sueing finished with 15 points and Walker added 13 as the Buckeyes moved to 2-0 despite a disjointed effort at home.

The Buckeyes are back home again on Wednesday to continue their nonconference slate against Morehead State with a 5 p.m. tipoff.