Tanner Holden's buzzer beater delivers Buckeyes win over Rutgers

COLUMBUS — The scoreboard turned off in the first half. Wrongly-timed horns blared. It was the Big Ten opener. There were going to be kinks, both for The Schottenstein Center staff and for the Ohio State players.

But in the final moments of the Buckeyes’ conference clash with Rutgers, it felt like March.

After Scarlet Knights guard Caleb McConnell missed his second of two free throws, Ohio State freshman star Brice Sensabaugh pulled down the defensive rebound and pushed the ball up to point guard Bruce Thornton, who teetered the sideline and — despite appearing to step out of bounds — got a pass off to Tanner Holden without a whistle.

Holden, a senior transfer from Wright State, had just subbed in before the missed free throw with five seconds on the clock because, as head coach Chris Holtmann said postgame, Holden is the Buckeyes’ best “long passer.” The thought was, if McConnell made both free throws, Holden would run the full-court action.

Except, McConnell didn’t make both free throws. Instead of being the inbounder, Holden ended up with the ball in his hands for the final shot. He had zero points and just two attempts in his first 15 minutes.

When it mattered most, though, the Wheelersburg, Ohio, native delivered what he said was his first last-second shot since he was in fourth grade: a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that lifted No. 25 Ohio State over Rutgers, 67-66.

“Couldn’t really see because [Mawot Mag] was in the way,” Holden said. “But I just heard the crowd go crazy, and then I celebrated after that, and 15 guys were rushing me.”

Ohio State center Zed Key, who set a career high with 22 points in the win, added: “I almost passed out. I was yelling. I yell too much.

“I just looked up in the air and was like, ‘Oh, wow. That’s going in. And it went in.’ I just ran. I was more tired chasing after him than the last possession.”

As Holden’s arms went up, so did the arms of just about every person in the Buckeyes’ student section, which was in full force for the first time this season. Holden was swarmed by his Ohio State teammates, as the Buckeyes moved to 7-2, and, of course, 1-0 in Big Ten play.

“Whew, that one right there,” Holtmann said. “Just how we drew it up.”

A WALK-OFF 3️⃣ FOR @OhioStateHoops ‼️ pic.twitter.com/fprzioLyeD

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 9, 2022

Ohio State led by as many as 11 points in the first half. Key dominated in the opening frame with 15 points, eight rebounds — including six on the offensive glass — and two assists. He was all over the place, effort-wise, hitting the glass for second-chance opportunities and the deck for loose balls.

In the second half, Rutgers’ big man, Cliff Omoruyi, starred.

Omoruyi is one of the best fives in the Big Ten and maybe even the country, and he showed why with a bounce-back final 20 minutes, during which he registered 14 points and four rebounds. That came after the 6-foot-11 Nigeria native coughed up four turnovers and scored a mere two points in the first period.

The centers traded moments in the spotlight, and, as a whole, the squads swapped punches throughout the game. It was a matchup that featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes.

Rutgers pulled ahead late with a jumper from Loyola (Maryland) transfer Cam Spencer — who entered Thursday fourth nationally in steals per game and added two more thefts — but the game was extended by a series of trips to the free throw line.

Ohio State got two chances at the lead. The first came with nine seconds to go, but Sensabaugh’s floater was blocked by Omoruyi.

The second time around, however, the Buckeyes cashed in.

More specifically, Tanner Holden cashed in. For his first points of the night. And his first Big Ten victory.

When asked where that win ranked among the thrillers in Key’s three-year Buckeyes career, he didn’t hesitate.

“One. For sure,” Key said.

Holden reacted with a quiet yet excited “Yes!” before leaning back in his press conference chair and smiling wide.