FINAL: Ohio State Buckeyes Defeat Oakland Golden Grizzlies 79-73 in Season Opener
The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Oakland Golden Grizzlies 79-73 on Monday night, starting off the regular season with a victory.
The Buckeyes spent a majority of the first half trailing on the scoreboard, but managed to cut the deficit to a single point going into the locker room.
Ohio State senior forward Zed Key and sophomore guards Roddy Gayle Jr. and Bruce Thornton led their teammates on the scoresheet with 17 points each, followed closely by freshman guard Scotty Middleton's 13 points. Key was the king of the glass in the contest, cleaning up the glass for the Buckeyes with eight rebounds.
Oakland graduate guard Jake Gohlke finished on top of the visiting box score with 18 points, which was the largest, individual contribution on either team. Junior forward Trey Townsend was the second-highest scorer on the team with 17 points, and finished with a game-high nine rebounds for the Golden Grizzlies.
Ohio State seemed to have solved their shooting struggles over the halftime break, improving from 39% (11-for-28) to 46% (24-for-52) between periods. The Buckeyes also maintained their first-half advantages over the Golden Grizzlies in total rebounds (42-30), second-chance points (16-13) and bench points (30-19).
The Buckeyes remain undefeated in season-openers under coach Chris Holtmann's command, having now won their last seven. Ohio State also improves their record in campaign debuts to 103-21 overall and 106-17 when playing them in their home arena.
Ohio State is back in action later this week, hosting the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies at 7 p.m. eastern on Friday, November 10. Coverage of the game will air on Peacock (NBC's streaming service) live from inside the Schottenstein Center.
