Ohio State gets last laugh in back-and-forth first-round NIT matchup against Cornell

COLUMBUS — Ohio State outlasted Cornell in the first round of the NIT, 88-83, after back-and-forth action in the Schottenstein Center.

Lettermen Row has Three Points from the victory.

Ohio State size advantage over Cornell clear, except initially for naught because of shooting struggles

Unlike its Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal game against Illinois, Ohio State had the clear size advantage Tuesday against Cornell. The Buckeyes began the game with a 16-7 edge on the glass. Of those 16 rebounds, 11 came on the offensive end. Except, they had just five second-chance points to show for that effort. And, besides, the only reason the Buckeyes were in position for that kind of rebounding output on that side of the floor was because they weren’t making shots, inside or outside.

Cornell brought a full-court press out of the gates, but Ohio State didn’t have trouble navigating that kind of pressure — the Buckeyes had only five first-half turnovers, after all. The Buckeyes got to the paint just fine. The problem is, when they reached the lane, they had a hard time finishing, so much so that they missed five of their first six layups. Ohio State rounded out the opening frame 3-of-9 on layups.

There was one stretch in particular where Cornell’s Cooper Noard connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, and after each one the Buckeyes couldn’t get a layup to go: first Evan Mahaffey misfired, then Felix Okpara, who, granted, did have eight points and five boards (all offensive) in the opening period. But, earlier in the game, Okpara also missed an alley-oop dunk.

The Buckeyes missed their first six long-range shot attempts, too. Similar to their work inside, they got the looks they want but couldn’t convert.

Buckeyes catch fire from beyond the arc, take lead before halftime

Cornell led by as many as 10 points in the first half. Noard’s 3-point shooting helped. But clean bounce passes and precise backdoor cutting from Nazir Williams and Isaiah Gray also fueled a technically sound Big Red offense early.

Head coach Brian Earl’s team was in the driver’s seat for 15:08 of the first half.

That was, until Ohio State — and point guard Bruce Thornton, more specifically — started to rain 3-pointers. Thornton didn’t take a shot the first 12-plus minutes of action. Then he attempt five over the next four minutes, going 3-of-4 from deep in the process.

Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, after the first two of those 3-pointers, Cornell answered with a trio of its own triples, including one from Guy Ragland Jr., who finished with 17 points and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Ohio State freshman forward Devin Royal returned the favor by splashing his third 3-pointer of the season. Thornton followed with his third conversion from downtown.

This 3-point barrage went on for a bit more, as 10 of the teams’ 11 field goals in a five-and-a-half minute span came from beyond the arc. Ohio State, or Jamison Battle, ended that spree with back-to-back triples that gave the Buckeyes a lead they didn’t give up the rest of the half.

Roddy Gayle Jr. jumpstarts go-ahead sequence in second half, Jamison Battle counters final Cornell punch

After the first media timeout, Ragland surged for Cornell, at one point scoring nine of 13 Big Red points. That boost rewarded Earl’s team with a slight advantage.

Gayle jumpstarted a go-ahead sequence for the Buckeyes in the back half of the second period. He used a pump fake to set up a shot inside. Then he knocked down a 3-pointer. Then he pulled down a defensive rebound on the next possession that slingshotted the Buckeyes’ transition offense, which saw Dale Bonner slip a pass to Okpara, who scored beneath the basket despite being fouled.

A Gayle offensive rebound set the stage for a Battle-to-Okpara lob connection. It was a bit of payback for Okpara, who was dunked on by Cornell’s Gray. That was the first of two instances Ohio State took a five-point lead down the stretch, the second was when Bowen Hardman made his first 3-pointer since mid-February.

Cornell wasn’t backing down, though. Jake Fiegen drilled a pair of 3-pointers to make it a one-point game. Later, Gray — who finished with a team-high 19 points and was talking all night — made a go-ahead layup, but he was T’d up for shouting at Mahaffey after the bucket.

Battle tied the game at the free throw line and, shortly after, handed Ohio State a three-point cushion with a made floater. Except, Cornell had one last punch, which came in the form of a Williams contested 3-pointer and a Gray layup.

Battle countered with a 3-pointer from the left wing. Gayle forced a tie-up on the other end. And Mahaffey quarterbacked a deep pass to Royal past the Cornell pressure. Gray missed a layup to the tune of raucous Ohio State crowd, and the Buckeyes made their game-sealing free throws.

Gayle and Battle tied for the team lead with 17 points. Okpara posted 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. And Royal finished with 13 points, his fourth game in double figures this season.