Men’s Basketball: Bonner beats the buzzer to break Ohio State’s 17 road-game-losing streak

Lauryn Luderman
Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:19:41 +0000
Instagram Page, Men's Basketball, News, Sports, Austin Parks, Big Ten, Big Ten conference, Big Ten conference play, Big Ten Play, Bowen Hardman, Bruce Thornton, Buckeyes, buckeyes basketball, Buckeyes men's basketball, Chris Holtmann, Colby Baumann, conference play, Dale Bonner, David Egelhoff, Devin Royal, Evan Mahaffey, Felix Okpara, holtmann, Jack Owens, Jake Diebler, Jamison Battle, John McCausland, Kalen Etzler, KenPom, KenPom rankings, Kyle Davis, march madness [and 21 more]

Senior Dale Bonner (4) looking for a pass against Purdue on February 18th, 2024. Ohio State won 73-69. Credit: Lily Hynes | Assistant Photo Editor

Tied at 57 with 6.4 seconds remaining, graduate guard Dale Bonner hit a three and revived Buckeye Nation.?

With this 3-pointer, Bonner snapped Ohio State’s 17 road-game-losing streak — a program record — and sparked life into a team that’s just three games in under interim head coach Jake Diebler.?

In a low-score affair, the Buckeyes (16-12, 6-11 Big Ten) upset the Michigan State Spartans (17-11, 9-8 Big Ten) 60-57 at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan, earning their first win away from home since Jan. 1, 2023.

However, it didn’t come easy for Ohio State, and it looked like the Spartans were ready to run away with the victory until only 10 minutes remained on the game clock.

For the first seven minutes of the contest, the Buckeyes were able to stay in tune with the Spartans, however, their high-press defense was evident in Michigan State’s three blocked shots and a steal. The Spartans led by six after less than three minutes, but the Buckeyes kept it close.?

With 10:41 remaining in the first, sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. had a dunk to put Ohio State down by just one, 13-12, with a chance to take the lead.?

Instead of capitalizing on their single-point deficit, the Buckeyes allowed an 8-3 Spartan run headlined by 4 points from graduate forward Malik Hall to put them up 21-15.?

Just under six minutes remained in the first half and Ohio State’s scoring became sparse. It found itself facing its largest score gap of the night as a three from graduate guard Tyson Walker put the Spartans up by 10, 30-20. In those six minutes, the Buckeyes scored 7 points to Michigan State’s 11.

After two good free throws from Ohio State sophomore guard Bruce Thornton and a layup from Walker, the Buckeyes ended the half still down by 10, 33-22. The Spartan defense limited Thornton to just 7 points and 2-of-7 shooting. Additionally, Ohio State had not scored a single-consecutive field goal throughout the entire first half.?

For the first 10 minutes out of the break, the Buckeyes and Spartans traded baskets, but Michigan State kept them within an arm’s distance as they couldn’t get within eight of them.?

At 13:50 in the second half, freshman forward Devin Royal cut the Spartan lead to six, which was followed by a missed Walker layup — giving Ohio State hope. However, with two made shots by Michigan State, it was back up by 10, 46-36.?

Shortly after, a dunk by Buckeye sophomore center Felix Okpara brought them within 10 again, 50-40, and Ohio State finally got familiar with the basket. A jump shot by Okpara with 6:02 remaining in the game brought the score within one, once again.?

Royal was instrumental in the Buckeyes’ comeback with a career-high 14 points.?

After a Spartan turnover, Gayle rushed to the basket where he was fouled by Walker. Two free throws later, Ohio State was down by one — again — with just over two minutes left in the contest.

Walker hit a two to bring the score to 56-53 in favor of Michigan State, but Royal followed up with a two of his own.?

As 31 seconds remained on the clock, senior center Mady Sissoko was stripped of the ball and Gayle was fouled, sending him back to the free-throw line. His shots put the Buckeyes ahead for the first time of the day, by one, 57-56, with 11.9 seconds remaining in the game.?

Shortly thereafter, Thornton fouled Walker, who made just one of his two free throws, establishing an equalizer, but giving the ball back to Ohio State with 6.4 seconds.?

Thornton, with the ball, made a long pass to Bonner in the corner, who pulled up to shoot — and he scored — giving the Buckeyes a much-needed win.?

Ohio State will hope to build on this win when it hosts Nebraska Thursday at Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m., and will be broadcast on FS1.