Saturday, December 15
Columbus, Ohio
12 p.m.
Bucknell University
4-4
71
at
73
Ohio State
9-1
1
2
F
Bucknell
40
31
71
Ohio State
39
34
73
Photo by: Austin Mariasy
Bison Take No. 15/14 Ohio State Down to the Final Shot, Fall 73-71
12/15/2018 3:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Two potential go-ahead threes fall short in final seconds as Bucknell just misses upset bid
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Bucknell gave No. 15/14 Ohio State all it could handle on Saturday afternoon, but two contested 3-pointers would not drop in the final seconds, and the Buckeyes prevailed 73-71 before 14,241 at Value City Arena. Kimbal Mackenzie and Avi Toomer led four Bison in double figures with 13 points, while Kaleb Wesson tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Buckeyes.
Bucknell (4-4) trailed 37-25 with four minutes left in the first half, but then over the next seven minutes surrounding halftime, the Bison outscored Ohio State 24-4 and took an eight-point lead in the early stages of the second half.
After shooting 52 percent in the first half, including nine 3-pointers in 17 attempts, Bucknell endured a 1-for-15 drought as Ohio State (9-1) climbed back into the game. Keyshaun Woods scored eight points in a 10-0 Buckeyes run to give them the lead back, and later in the half, Ohio State nudged the margin back to 11 at 69-58.
But the Bison were stout defensively in the late stages, holding Ohio State without a field goal in the final 5:30. Toomer's slashing layup in transition ended an eight-minute field-goal drought for Bucknell, and then Bruce Moore cut the margin to six with two free throws with 59 seconds left.
Ohio State went 1-for-2 at the foul line on two occasions, and the Bison answered with a Jimmy Sotos layup and a Mackenzie three to make it 71-68. Wesson made both at the line with 29 seconds left, but Toomer followed with his third trey of the day to cut it to 73-71. Bucknell then poked the ball loose on the inbounds, and John Meeks dove on the loose ball and called timeout.
The Bison went for three and the win, but Ohio State defended it well. Moore's off-balance attempt hit the front iron, Sotos tracked down the loose ball on the right wing, but his desperation attempt at the buzzer fell short.
"For two teams coming off long layoffs for final exams, I thought that was a very good college basketball game," said head coach Nathan Davis. "Our guys played really hard and really well at times against a very good Big Ten team on the road. We have a ton of respect for Coach Holtmann and his program, and we knew it was going to be tough to find open shots. Once we got into a good flow late in the first half, we were getting good looks and knocking them down. We're not really into moral victories, and we're all disappointed not to find a way to win the game, but at the same time we have a lot of good things to build on."
Sotos finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Bison, and Nate Sestina scored 10 points despite being limited to 13 minutes due to foul trouble. After missing the first seven game of the season with an injury, Meeks was cleared to play late in the week and made an immediate impact, tallying seven points, three rebounds and a steal in 16 minutes.
Bucknell shot 42 percent for the game, hitting on 12 of 30 shots from beyond the arc. The Bison led 40-39 at the half even though Ohio State shot 59 percent from the floor.
Mackenzie's triple with 3:25 left in the first half ignited a stunning 15-0 Bison run in a span of just 2:49. Toomer followed a steal and breakaway layup, then Sestina made a layup and a 3-pointer. After Jackson missed two free throws, Mackenzie tied it at 37 with a pull-up jumper from the elbow, and Sotos drained Bucknell's ninth 3-pointer of the half to make it 40-37.
Woods ended the run with a tough jumper with five seconds remaining, but then the Bison stormed out of the locker room with another 9-2 spurt. Moore started the second-half scoring with a trey, and after a Wesson put-back, Sotos made a nice back cut for a layup off a Sestina feed, and Mackenzie and Sestina followed with free throws for a 49-41 lead.
After Ohio State surged back ahead, a key swing occurred around the seven-minute mark. Trailing 68-62, the Bison missed two free throws, and then on the defensive end Moore was sent to the floor by an elbow. The replay review was inconclusive, however, and then moments later Sestina was whistled for a moving screen for his fifth foul. Ohio State scored the next seven points to go up 69-58, setting the stage for Bucknell's valiant comeback attempt in the final minutes.
Bucknell limited Ohio State to 37-percent shooting in the second half. The Buckeyes finished the game at 48 percent and went 6-for-15 from long range. Both teams hit 13 of 18 free throws.
Rebounding leaned in Ohio State's favor by a 39-29 count, and the Buckeyes led 16-4 in second-chance points. Three times in the game they hit 3-pointers after extending the possession with an offensive carom.
Bucknell protected the ball well, committing only eight turnovers with 13 assists on 23 field goals. Ohio State's opponents had 79 assists against 125 turnovers entering the day.
The Bison were bidding for their first win over a top-20 team since beating No. 17/19 Syracuse on Nov. 22, 2005. Bucknell's last two clashes with a Big Ten team resulted in a four-point loss to Michigan State in last year's NCAA Tournament and a two-point setback in this one.
Bucknell returns to Lewisburg after the game, and then departs for a long trip out west on Monday. The Bison play at St. Mary's in Moraga, Calif., on Dec. 19, before heading to Honolulu for the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Dec. 22-25.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Bucknell gave No. 15/14 Ohio State all it could handle on Saturday afternoon, but two contested 3-pointers would not drop in the final seconds, and the Buckeyes prevailed 73-71 before 14,241 at Value City Arena. Kimbal Mackenzie and Avi Toomer led four Bison in double figures with 13 points, while Kaleb Wesson tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Buckeyes.
Bucknell (4-4) trailed 37-25 with four minutes left in the first half, but then over the next seven minutes surrounding halftime, the Bison outscored Ohio State 24-4 and took an eight-point lead in the early stages of the second half.
After shooting 52 percent in the first half, including nine 3-pointers in 17 attempts, Bucknell endured a 1-for-15 drought as Ohio State (9-1) climbed back into the game. Keyshaun Woods scored eight points in a 10-0 Buckeyes run to give them the lead back, and later in the half, Ohio State nudged the margin back to 11 at 69-58.
But the Bison were stout defensively in the late stages, holding Ohio State without a field goal in the final 5:30. Toomer's slashing layup in transition ended an eight-minute field-goal drought for Bucknell, and then Bruce Moore cut the margin to six with two free throws with 59 seconds left.
Ohio State went 1-for-2 at the foul line on two occasions, and the Bison answered with a Jimmy Sotos layup and a Mackenzie three to make it 71-68. Wesson made both at the line with 29 seconds left, but Toomer followed with his third trey of the day to cut it to 73-71. Bucknell then poked the ball loose on the inbounds, and John Meeks dove on the loose ball and called timeout.
The Bison went for three and the win, but Ohio State defended it well. Moore's off-balance attempt hit the front iron, Sotos tracked down the loose ball on the right wing, but his desperation attempt at the buzzer fell short.
"For two teams coming off long layoffs for final exams, I thought that was a very good college basketball game," said head coach Nathan Davis. "Our guys played really hard and really well at times against a very good Big Ten team on the road. We have a ton of respect for Coach Holtmann and his program, and we knew it was going to be tough to find open shots. Once we got into a good flow late in the first half, we were getting good looks and knocking them down. We're not really into moral victories, and we're all disappointed not to find a way to win the game, but at the same time we have a lot of good things to build on."
ICYMI: No. 15 @OhioStateHoops held off Bucknell for a narrow victory today.
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) December 15, 2018
We have the highlights below. pic.twitter.com/Yk4fCeqw9q
Sotos finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Bison, and Nate Sestina scored 10 points despite being limited to 13 minutes due to foul trouble. After missing the first seven game of the season with an injury, Meeks was cleared to play late in the week and made an immediate impact, tallying seven points, three rebounds and a steal in 16 minutes.
Bucknell shot 42 percent for the game, hitting on 12 of 30 shots from beyond the arc. The Bison led 40-39 at the half even though Ohio State shot 59 percent from the floor.
Mackenzie's triple with 3:25 left in the first half ignited a stunning 15-0 Bison run in a span of just 2:49. Toomer followed a steal and breakaway layup, then Sestina made a layup and a 3-pointer. After Jackson missed two free throws, Mackenzie tied it at 37 with a pull-up jumper from the elbow, and Sotos drained Bucknell's ninth 3-pointer of the half to make it 40-37.
Woods ended the run with a tough jumper with five seconds remaining, but then the Bison stormed out of the locker room with another 9-2 spurt. Moore started the second-half scoring with a trey, and after a Wesson put-back, Sotos made a nice back cut for a layup off a Sestina feed, and Mackenzie and Sestina followed with free throws for a 49-41 lead.
After Ohio State surged back ahead, a key swing occurred around the seven-minute mark. Trailing 68-62, the Bison missed two free throws, and then on the defensive end Moore was sent to the floor by an elbow. The replay review was inconclusive, however, and then moments later Sestina was whistled for a moving screen for his fifth foul. Ohio State scored the next seven points to go up 69-58, setting the stage for Bucknell's valiant comeback attempt in the final minutes.
Bucknell limited Ohio State to 37-percent shooting in the second half. The Buckeyes finished the game at 48 percent and went 6-for-15 from long range. Both teams hit 13 of 18 free throws.
Rebounding leaned in Ohio State's favor by a 39-29 count, and the Buckeyes led 16-4 in second-chance points. Three times in the game they hit 3-pointers after extending the possession with an offensive carom.
Bucknell protected the ball well, committing only eight turnovers with 13 assists on 23 field goals. Ohio State's opponents had 79 assists against 125 turnovers entering the day.
The Bison were bidding for their first win over a top-20 team since beating No. 17/19 Syracuse on Nov. 22, 2005. Bucknell's last two clashes with a Big Ten team resulted in a four-point loss to Michigan State in last year's NCAA Tournament and a two-point setback in this one.
Bucknell returns to Lewisburg after the game, and then departs for a long trip out west on Monday. The Bison play at St. Mary's in Moraga, Calif., on Dec. 19, before heading to Honolulu for the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Dec. 22-25.
Team Stats
BUCKNELL
OSU
FG%
.418
.482
3FG%
.400
.400
FT%
.722
.722
RB
29
39
TO
8
13
STL
6
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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