Roddy Gayle Jr. scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half to spark Ohio State to a 79-73 win against Oakland in both teams’ season opener on Monday in Columbus, Ohio.
The Buckeyes trailed 52-47 before Gayle scored nine straight points for a four-point lead with eight minutes left in the game.
Oakland pulled within 68-67 with 2:34 left on a 3-pointer by Jack Gohlke, who had 12 of his 18 points after halftime, but Bruce Thornton canned a trey with 2:05 remaining to put the Buckeyes up 71-67.
Ohio State led 76-73 with 15 seconds left after freshman Scotty Middleton made 1 of 2 foul shots. Gohlke then missed a 3-point attempt at the other end.
Thornton and Zed Key each had 17 points and Middleton added 13 for the Buckeyes.
Trey Townsend scored 17 points and Blake Lampman 14 for Oakland. Townsend grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
The game had historical significance. Oakland was the opponent for the first game at Value City Arena on the Ohio State campus on Nov. 13, 1998.
Oakland led 35-34 at the half.
The Golden Grizzlies set out to spoil the party for the Buckeyes by taking seven-point leads on three occasions before Oakland an into foul trouble, helping the Buckeyes cut the deficit with the clock stopped.
The Buckeyes made 9 of 12 from the foul line off 13 Oakland fouls in the first half while Oakland was 7 of 8 on free throws. Ohio State committed eight fouls before halftime, two of them 12 seconds apart by Penn State transfer Evan Mahaffey to send him the bench just 2:55 into the game.
Ohio State took the lead, 34-33, on a jumper from Thornton with 2:05 left in the half, but the Golden Grizzlies regained the advantage a minute later on a Townsend bucket.
Both teams play Friday against ranked opponents. Oakland travels to No. 25 Illinois, while the Buckeyes host No. 15 Texas A&M.
–Field Level Media
