Ohio State cruises past Maine for bounce-back victory

COLUMBUS — Ohio State flushed the bad taste of its overtime loss to North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic with eight first-half dunks Wednesday against Maine.

The Buckeyes had their way inside. They came into the night averaging close to 35 points per game in the paint and topped that mark in the opening frame, outscoring the Black Bears, 36-10, in that department. Zed Key and Felix Okpara were simply too much to handle for a Maine squad that ranks 276th in average height and 287th in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency.

That center duo combined for 24 points, including 18 in the first half, and every player in the Buckeyes’ eight-man rotation scored en route to a 95-61 victory in The Schottenstein Center.

Maine (6-6) actually staked itself to an early lead about two and a half minutes into the game, but that’s the closest the Black Bears would ever get to sniffing a competitive contest with Ohio State (8-3, 1-0 Big Ten). The Buckeyes blew the game open in the back half of the first period with a 14-0 run.

That offensive explosion featured the finishing touches of a 6-0 spurt from Okpara, who provided weak-side help and blocked Maine’s Peter Filipovity. Then, on the other end, he cleaned up a miss for second-chance points. It was part of a freshmen scoring frenzy for Ohio State. Next, Brice Sensabaugh — making his third consecutive start in Oklahoma State grad transfer guard Isaac Likekele‘s absence — chipped in four points, and Roddy Gayle Jr. even got to the cup for a layup.

6:12 left in 1H: Ohio State 34, Maine 18.

Impressive stretch by #Buckeyes freshman center Felix Okpara. First he provided weak-side help and blocked Maine's Peter Filipovity. Then, on the other end, he cleaned up a miss for second-chance points.

Okpara scored 6 straight points. pic.twitter.com/4txcG4bWfv

— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) December 22, 2022

Justice Sueing capped the stretch with an exclamation point: a steal and an emphatic breakaway dunk.

Maine’s offense was fueled by a pair of transfers. Kellen Tynes from Montana State and Gedi Juozapaitis from Georgia Southern combined for 35 points, with Juozapaitis hitting three 3-pointers.

But the Black Bears — who have been competitive in head coach Chris Markwood’s first season and even upset Boston College — didn’t stand much of a chance against Ohio State, which entered Wednesday with the third-highest rated KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency.

Maine strung together three consecutive buckets toward the end of the first half, in part because of two careless Ohio State turnovers, but West Virginia transfer Sean McNeil put a stop to any potential comeback with a 3-pointer — a make that gave him 1,000 career points.

The Buckeyes wrapped the period with an Okpara dunk and an elbow jumper from Bruce Thornton, going into the locker room with a 47-26 advantage.

Ohio State picked up right where it left off to start the second half, extending what became an 11-0 run that dated back to the end of the opening frame. Key scored to kick off the period — as he’s been wont to do this season — and Sensabaugh followed with back-to-back jumpers, notably swishing a 3-pointer from the right wing.

14:34 left in 2H: Ohio State 60, Maine 36.

Brice Sensabaugh is getting noticeably more active on the defensive end. Deflected a pass on the possession before this 3-pointer from the wing. His three-level scoring ability has been on display today. pic.twitter.com/HXAamfEZcO

— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) December 22, 2022

Sensabaugh, coming off his first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor, went on to bury another triple in that same spot down the stretch: a corner 3-pointer right in front of the Buckeyes bench. Sensabaugh continued to be more active on the defensive end and registered seven rebounds and a season-high seven assists — one of which he dished to Okpara after collecting an offensive rebound.

Sensabaugh finished as Ohio State’s leading scorer with 19 points. He headlined a productive night for the Buckeyes’ four contributing freshmen, who teamed up for 46 points.

Okpara logged double-digit points for the second time this season. He threw down three dunks, highlighted by a pair of alley-oops. He also had four rebounds.

Thornton turned in a stat line of 11 points, six rebounds and five assists and, most importantly, didn’t turn the ball over after committing a season-worst five giveaways against UNC. Ohio State, as a whole, took care of the ball, posting 23 assists and only seven turnovers.

Maine kept pace with Ohio State offensively in the first 12 minutes and change of the second half, except the Buckeyes weren’t backing off their 20-plus-point lead.

Just like the first half, Ohio State orchestrated a double-digit run in the back half of the second period: this one a 12-0 surge that saw Sueing get two physical field goals to fall, including an and-one, and Gayle get in on the dunk party.

That run boosted the Buckeyes’ lead to 33 points. Ohio State had the luxury of emptying out its bench, and reserves Bowen Hardman and Kalen Etzler both got on the board, with Hardman converting a pair of 3-pointers.

It was just that kind of night for Chris Holtmann’s Ohio State squad. Everything went right for the Buckeyes — on both ends of the floor.

After two straight buzzer-beater-themed thrillers against Rutgers and UNC, the Buckeyes grabbed a decisive win, swapping drama for dunk-friendly domination.