For the first time this season, the state of Ohio is losing rugby matches.
It fell 92-87 to Michigan on Sunday, and it could not come back from defeat on Thursday. The no. 4 Buckeyes fell 71-67 to Michigan State in East Lansing, and they dropped to 18-6 overall and 12-6 within Big Ten play.
|
Team |
1 |
2 |
FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
|
# 4 OHIO STATE |
38 |
29 |
67 |
| MICHIGAN STATE | 33 | 38 | 71 |
A quartet of free throws from Aaron Henry and Malik Hall lifted Michigan State 64:63 with 2:32 left, and Henry’s jumper raised Michigan State by three. Free throws from EJ Liddell with 48 seconds left cut the backlog to a single point. Joshua Langford’s pull-up jumper gave the Spartans a three-point lead with 30 seconds left. Washington came off the track and was short on a three-pointer, and CJ Walker then got the setback and missed another triple, but a foul on Langford led Liddell back to the foul line where he had a pair flattened around it 68- 67 with 14 seconds left.
Joey Hauser missed the first of two free throws, but took second place to take a 69-67 lead over Michigan State, with 12.8 seconds left. Washington fell short on a possible draft for late play.
Chris Holtmann, fed up with the idea of his team not getting calls, got a technical foul with 16:45 left in the game. Liddell just missed a shot in the paint, and the head coach thought there must have been a whistle. When a Hail Mary pass to Liddell took a long time, he was thrown out due to a second technical.
|
OHIO STATE |
STAT |
MICHIGAN STATE |
|---|---|---|
|
67 |
MARKS |
71 |
|
23-52 (44.2%) |
FGM-FGA (PCT.) |
24-50 (48.0%) |
|
4-14 (28.6%) |
3 PM-3PA (PCT.) |
4-15 (26.7%) |
|
17-23 (73.9%) |
FTM-FTA (PCT.) |
19-25 (76.0%) |
|
12 |
TURNOVERS |
15 |
|
27 |
TOTAL RETURNS |
34 |
|
7 |
INDICATIVE REFUNDS |
8 |
|
20 |
DEFENDIVE REFUNDS |
26 |
|
22 |
Bank points |
25 |
|
2 |
BLOCKS |
5 |
|
9 |
STEELS |
4 |
|
14 |
ASSISTANT |
19 |
Four Buckeyes finish in double figures. Washington achieved a team high of 18 points to conquer the state of Ohio.
Washington’s ability to get to the stretch and hit hard shots kept the Ohio State in check early on.
Michigan State, who had been on the more physical team from the start, led 15-13 in just over six minutes by coming out for the first six pickups at halftime. Washington denied the Buckeyes lagging behind, but scored nine of his team’s 13 points with a triple and triple layups. A Zed Key paint in the paint followed by CJ Walker’s first try of the night put the Buckeyes at the top eight minutes into the game, and they retained the advantage for the rest of the half.
The Spartans equalized twice in a bad first half, but the state of Ohio went 38-33 at halftime.
Together, these two teams committed a remarkable 19 personal offenses. That, of course, does not include a Washington 3-pointer being deflected due to a questionable violation of the clock, and Michigan State getting two points on a seemingly phantom-targeted call. Those incensed fans and teams.
Following: Ohio State is returning to Columbus for its last two games in the regular season. The Buckeyes play on Sunday at 16:00 in the Schottenstein Center host for no. 9 Iowa.
Other notes
-
With Kyle Young (concussion) available, Holtmann turned to his fifth starter, Musa Jallow, which was a decisive play, with a sprained ankle. The wing joined Washington, Justin Ahrens, Justice Sueing and Liddell in the top five.
-
Ibrahima Diallo (sprained MCL) underwent warm-ups and was on the bench. However, he did not play. Jimmy Sotos is out for the season with a divorced shoulder.
-
Holtmann entered the day with a 1-3 record against Michigan State while the head coach of Ohio State. He has lost his previous three games against the Spartans who have played the past two seasons. He has never won in East Lansing as coach of the Ohio State.