Ohio State Caps Season-Opening Homestand With 89-58 Win Over Bowling Green

The Buckeyes used a pair of double-digit runs in the first half to blow out the Falcons.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Nov 15, 2021 8:22 PM EST

Ohio State played its most complete game of the young season on Monday evening, dominating Bowling Green, 89-58, to improve to 3-0 in non-conference play.

The Buckeyes were without forward Justice Sueing, who was listed as unavailable on the pregame status report as he navigates a nagging lower body injury. But forward Justin Ahrens stepped up in his absence, scoring eight of his 11 points in the first half.

Forward E.J. Liddell and guard Meechie Johnson led Ohio State with 13 points apiece, while a total of 10 Buckeyes scored at least one point on the evening, including guard Jimmy Sotos and Indiana transfer center Joey Brunk.

Forward Zed Key and guard Eugene Brown also pitched in 12 points, which was a career-high for the latter.

How It Happened

Penn State transfer guard Jamari Wheeler got the scoring started, while Liddell followed it up with a three-pointer of his own to give the Buckeyes a 6-0 lead early on.

After Ahrens knocked down a pair of free throws, Wheeler hit another three to extend the lead to 11-0 just four minutes into the game.

Bowling Green ended its scoring drought with a jumper and layup on consecutive possessions near the 15 minute mark, but didn’t score again for nearly eight minutes to dig a deeper hole.

In the meantime, Ohio State jumped out to its biggest lead of the year as Key, Brown and forward Kyle Young hit shots near the basket before Ahrens drilled a three-pointer to extend the lead to 16.

The Buckeyes were up 24-4 when the Falcons finally knocked down a jumper. The teams traded buckets on the next few possessions, with Ohio State leading 31-13 with 5:38 left in the first half.

Bowling Green had another scoring drought later in the half, this one lasting nearly five minutes to allow the lead to balloon to 28 points before Trey Diggs knocked down a three-pointer with 53 seconds on the clock.

Freshman guard Malaki Branham, who made his second career start on Monday, scored four of his eight points during this stretch.

Ohio State led 41-18 at the break, as eight different players scored a basket in the first half. The Buckeyes shot 53.1 percent from the field, while Bowling Green managed just 25.8 percent.

The Buckeyes picked up right where they left off after intermission, with Ahrens hitting a wide open three-pointer and Key making a dunk, which forced Bowling Green to call a timeout less than a minute into the half.

Ohio State then got its bench players involved, as Sotos scored his first points of the season on a three-pointer at the 10:42 mark.

Louisiana transfer Cedric Russell, who missed the win over Niagara following a death in the family, entered the game with just a little over six minutes remaining.

He did not score, though he did record an assist to Brown, who hit a three-pointer to reach his career-high and give the Buckeyes a 81-39 lead at the 6:10 mark.

Walk-on Harrison Hookfin entered the game at the next timeout, while Johnson knocked down a pair from behind the arc in the final minutes to end the scoring for Ohio State.

Up next, the Buckeyes travel to Cincinnati on Thursday to take on Xavier in the Gavitt Games. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on FS1.

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