Ohio State can't keep pace with Rienk Mast, Nebraska's 3-point shooting

Ohio State was winning until Nebraska started making 3-pointers.

More specifically, Ohio State was winning until Rienk Mast started making 3-pointers. The skilled big man and Bradley transfer netted a career-high six triples, including three in the span of two minutes and 10 seconds in the first half that seized the lead from the Buckeyes.

Nebraska, and Mast namely, never gave it back Tuesday night.

The Huskers started 2-of-8 from downtown but finished 14-of-27 from beyond the arc. The 6-foot-10, 248-pound Netherlands native piled up a career-high 34 points on 17 field goal attempts, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Ohio State’s defensive rotations were out of sorts, and Nebraska — now off to its best 20-game start since 1990-91 — pulled away for an 83-69 win in a packed and rowdy Pinnacle Bank Arena.

After the Buckeyes (13-6, 3-5 Big Ten) took down Penn State last weekend, head coach Chris Holtmann said Ohio State had to play with more “maturity” on the defensive end in the second half of games. After all, it saw its game-high-23-point-lead dwindle to nine down the stretch of that streak-snapping victory.

His group was lacking in that department even before the second half at Nebraska (15-5, 5-4). The wheels fell off with under 11 minutes to go in the opening frame.

Before then, Ohio State staked itself to a 22-13 lead. At first it looked like the Buckeyes were embracing a new, paint-focused identity. They scored 18 such points in the first 20 minutes.

Roddy Gayle Jr. sank a floater, Evan Mahaffey picked up where he left off from his career outing against Penn State with two quick baskets.

Perhaps the high water mark of the game for Ohio State came on a sequence of shot fakes from Jamison Battle — and that’s saying something.

First Battle pumped and side-stepped for an early-game 3-pointer. Then, six-some minutes later, he pulled out the same move, but instead of sliding over for a long-range attempt, he used the space he created to drive baseline for a layup.

A pair of free throws from point guard Bruce Thornton, who clocked out with a team-high 16 points, put the Buckeyes ahead nine.

Ohio State missing what ended up being 8-of-9 shots in a pivotal stretch at the midpoint of the first half threw a wrench in its solid start.

Nebraska took advantage with a 10-2 spurt that featured a trio of jumpers from C.J. Wilcher. The upperclassman guard was overshadowed by Mast, but his four 3-pointers can’t be ignored, either.

He lit the fire underneath the Huskers. But Mast carried the torch.

Initially, he traded blows with Ohio State’s starting center, Felix Okpara. While Okpara exploited Mast’s deficiencies on the defensive interior, Mast exploited Okpara’s weakness defending the perimeter.

Okpara scored back-to-back dunks on the pick-and-roll. Shortly after, Mast dialed up back-to-back 3-pointers, the second of which pulled Nebraska ahead for the first time since the 15:25 mark.

Mast struck once more from long range before intermission, and Brice Williams capped off the first half with an offensive rebound and putback. Nebraska had a 43-35 lead at the break, meaning that it outscored Ohio State, 30-13, after Ohio State went up nine points early.

The Buckeyes came out swinging in the second half, and, in doing so, they made a dent in their deficit.

A good pocket of defensive play, a rarity for Ohio State Tuesday, and fluid ball movement did the trick. Two steals by Thornton led to a two 3-pointers — one from Thornton himself and one from Battle — and then an a block by Mahaffey set the stage for a Zed Key bucket in the paint.

Just like that it, it was 46-43.

Wilcher responded with consecutive 3-pointers. Ohio State’s last counterpunch came in the form of a Thorton runner and a Dale Bonner jumper. That cut its deficit to five points.

Not even a minute and a half later, Nebraska had a double-digit lead again. This one wasn’t going away. Mast ignited the 14,408 fans in attendance with a basket in the post and then another 3-pointer. It was the start of a 19-6 Nebraska run, during which Mast drilled a trio of 3-pointers and scored 17 points.

Mast was setting screens, and Ohio State wasn’t switching well on those screens, leaving the big man all alone at the top of the arc.

With 7:35 left and the Buckeyes trailing, 67-51, Holtmann subbed out Bonner for reserve guard Bowen Hardman, who hadn’t played since Dec. 21 against New Orleans and had logged just one minute in Big Ten play — last season against Michigan State — during his two-year Buckeyes career.

Hardman made the most of the opportunity, scoring 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting in his seven minutes of action. He was the lone bright spot in an otherwise miserable second half for Ohio State.

It was too little, too late anyway. Hardman’s makes weren’t followed by successive Buckeyes stops, and Nebraska cruised to the finish line.

It’s back to the drawing board defensively for Ohio State, which has to bounce back on the road at Northwestern Saturday, or else it will have another losing streak on its hands.

Whatever momentum the Buckeyes were building last weekend was gone by the back half of the opening frame at Nebraska Tuesday.