Devin Royal scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Bruce Thornton added 18 points and Ohio State escaped with an 89-88 win over Minnesota in double overtime on Monday night in a Big Ten Conference matchup in Minneapolis.
Ques Glover chipped in 13 points off the bench, including a pair of key free throws in the final seconds of the second overtime that preserved the victory for Ohio State (10-5, 2-2 Big Ten). John Mobley Jr. scored 12 points, and Micah Parrish finished with 11 points and seven boards.
Parker Fox scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting to lead Minnesota (8-7, 0-4). Lu’Cye Patterson finished with 20 points, and Mike Mitchell Jr. and Isaac Asuma collected 18 apiece.
The competitive contest featured 10 ties and 24 lead changes.
Ohio State opened the second extra session on an 8-0 run to help stave off the Golden Gophers, who were desperate for their first conference win. Thornton buried a 3-pointer on the Buckeyes’ opening possession of double overtime, Aaron Bradshaw followed with a three-point play on a layup and a free throw and Glover capped the outburst with a layup.
Minnesota made a trio of 3-pointers — two by Patterson and one by Mitchell — in the final 16 seconds of double overtime but could not complete its comeback attempt.
The score was tied at 73 at the conclusion of the first overtime. Mobley calmly sank a pair of free throws to erase a two-point deficit for Ohio State with four seconds to go.
At the end of regulation, the game was tied 64-64.
The Golden Gophers had pulled in front, 51-47, with 9:31 remaining after a 7-0 run. Patterson started the rally with a layup, Mitchell added a 3-pointer and Asuma punctuated it with a jump shot.
The Buckeyes battled back to even the score in the final five seconds. Mobley zipped a pass to Royal for a two-handed dunk to make it 64-all.
Minnesota led 28-27 at the half.
Ohio State had a huge advantage at the free-throw line. The Buckeyes shot 29 of 33 (87.9 percent), while the Golden Gophers shot 12 of 27 (44.4 percent).
–Field Level Media
