Jackson Shelstad made two free throws with seven seconds left to put No. 15 Oregon ahead for good as the Ducks defeated Ohio State 73-71 on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio.
Shelstad made the shots for a 72-71 lead before the Buckeyes’ Bruce Thornton missed an open 3-point attempt with two seconds left. Nate Bittle added a foul shot with a second remaining for the final point for Oregon (14-2, 3-2 Big Ten).
Shelstad tied a career high with 24 points and Bittle added 21 and a team-high eight rebounds.
Earlier, with Ohio State trailing by one, Thornton stole the ball, which led to two free throws by John Mobley Jr. with 12.6 seconds left to put the Buckeyes (10-6, 2-3 Big Ten) ahead 71-70.
Thornton led Ohio State with 20 points. Mobley had 16, Sean Stewart put up 14 points and nine rebounds and Micah Parrish added 11 points.
Oregon trailed by nine until mounting a steady comeback to pull to within 67-65 on a 3-pointer by Keeshawn Barthelemy with 2:14 remaining.
The Ducks took a 68-67 lead on a triple by Shelstad, followed by a jumper from the corner by TJ Bamba with 41 seconds left.
Ohio State’s Evan Mahaffey trimmed it 70-69 off a layup with 23 seconds left.
The Buckeyes held their largest advantage, 41-32, early in the second half but Oregon was able to stay within striking distance and whittled the deficit to three with eight minutes left. The Buckeyes ended a 2 1/2-minute drought when Thornton connected on a 3-pointer and increased the lead to 57-51.
Ohio State led 32-27 at the half after the teams played evenly for the better part of 15 minutes with six ties and two lead changes.
Although this was the first meeting since Oregon joined the Big Ten in 2024, the series has a brief but significant history.
The Ducks won 46-33 in the first NCAA championship game in 1939 for their lone title in history. Ohio State won the next three times against the Ducks, with the last game between the schools in 1992.
–Field Level Media
