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No. 25 Ohio State escaped defeat in stunning fashion against Rutgers when Buckeyes guard Tanner Holden nailed a buzzer-beating, game-winning 3-pointer to stun the Scarlet Knights 67-66 in front of a rocking home crowd on Thursday night at Value City Arena.
The wild sequence all started when Rutgers’ Caleb McConnell went to the free-throw stripe with five seconds to go and the Scarlet Knights leading 65-64. McConnell made the first free-throw but missed the next one short, dropping a rebound into the hands of Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh. Sensabaugh then found a streaking Bruce Thornton up the court, setting up the game’s most important assist.
Thornton got the ball to Holden with only a second remaining, which was more than enough time as Holden knocked down the buzzer-beating, game-winning 3-pointer.
The game-winning shot happened to be Holden’s first make in three shooting attempts for the game. Zed Key led Ohio State with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go along with 14 rebounds. Gonzaga’s Clifford Omoruyi recorded 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding eight rebounds and two blocks in a losing effort.
The win was Ohio State’s first in Big Ten play this season and brought the team’s record to 7-2. Rutgers, meanwhile, dropped to 6-3 and 1-1 in conference play after the undeniably painful loss.
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