Taison Chatman (3) drives on the baseline during the Buckeyes 84-78 win over Penn State in the Schottenstein Center Monday. Credit: Sandra Fu | Managing photo editor
It had been 34 days since the last time Taison Chatman scored a point.
The redshirt sophomore guard, who missed the entire 2024-25 season with a knee injury suffered during summer workouts, had been limited to 81 minutes across 15 appearances for the Buckeyes this season.
With Gabe Cupps and Christoph Tilly sidelined by injuries, Ohio State was searching for production from its depth. It found it in Chatman.
In a season-high 17 minutes, Chatman scored 11 points to help lift Ohio State to an 84-78 win over Penn State on Monday night at the Schottenstein Center.
The former four-star recruit became the first Buckeye since Brandon Noel, who scored 14 points against Rutgers, to reach double figures off the bench.
“I’m really proud of the way our team handled adversity today,” head coach Jake Diebler said. “We got dealt some adversity before the game, with some guys being out that we didn’t fully anticipate being the case. Then, we obviously dealt with some adversity in the second half.”
Chatman scored a career-high 11 points and Ivan Njegovan, who made his first start with Tilly out, added eight points.
“We had a couple of guys out and my team relied on me, and I didn’t want to let them down,” Chatman said.
To start the game, Ohio State made six of its first eight shots, but were only able to build a 14-9 lead due to five early turnovers.
Puff Johnson, who made his season-debut on Friday in a 74-62 loss to Michigan, was the first substitute off the bench and made an immediate impact, with two offensive rebounds and a put back basket.
Johnson, who joined the team Jan. 16 after a Franklin County judge ruled the seven-year senior eligible, played for Penn State in the 2024-2025 season.
Once Chatman subbed in, he quickly scored seven points on 3-of-3 shooting in the first half.
After turnovers troubled the Buckeyes to start the half, Ohio State did not turn the ball over in the final 12 minutes of the half, en route to a 50-32 point lead at the break.
Ohio State shot 66.7% from the floor in the first half, including five straight made shots to end the break, including three baskets from Amare Bynum.
To start the second half, the Nittany Lions came roaring back.
Penn State, who was winless in Big Ten play, made seven of their first eight shots to start the half, and cut Ohio State’s lead to 58-51 with 12:47 remaining. The seven point deficit was the smallest it had been since 11:53 in the first half
Then, Penn State’s Eli Rice hit a 3-pointer.
Josh Reed made an and-one.
Suddenly, Ohio State’s 18-point half time lead had dwindled down to just one, 60-59.
“We were a step slow on some of our closeouts, a step slow on some of our rotations,” Diebler said. “That was frustrating because I felt like we weren’t executing well enough.”
The Buckeyes responded as their three leading scorers stepped up. John Mobley Jr. made two free throws and a 3-pointer, Bruce Thornton made a layup and Devin Royal knocked down four free throws, as the Buckeyes pushed their lead to 71-63 with 7:01 to go.
After the two teams exchanged baskets, Chatman made an impact once again.
The redshirt-sophomore guard made a pull-up jumpshot with the shot clock winding down, then made a steal on the ensuing defensive possession, putting the Buckeyes up nine.
Once again, Penn State fought back and had cut its deficit to four.
But clutch free throw shooting from Mobley Jr., who finished with a game-high 25 points and Chatman, who knocked in the final two free throws gave the Buckeyes the lead for good en route to a 84-78 win.
“We’ve been searching for guys to step up, and there’s no denying he stepped up today,” Diebler said, talking about Chatman. “He deserves more opportunities in the next game and hopefully again he can go in there and play well.”
