Jamison Battle's final 3-pointer falls short, Ohio State falls to Georgia in NIT
It all came down to one shot and 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
Down 79-77, Ohio State's Roddy Gayle Jr. inbounded the ball to Jamison Battle, who got off a 3-pointer coming to his left that looked true but only hit the rim. The final horn sounded and the Buckeyes bowed out of the NIT with an emotional, two-point loss to Georgia on Tuesday night.
Battle, the Big Ten's leading 3-point shooter, was just slightly off on the final shot of his career.
"I thought it was good, but in the end, every shot I take I feel like is going in," he said. "It was just another shot. Got the hip turn that me and coach (Brandon) Bailey work on every day and off the hands I felt like it was good."
Seemingly left in the dust, down 13 with about 12 minutes to play, Ohio State mounted a comeback for the season. It started with a free throw from Roddy Gayle Jr. with 1:55 left and ended with a 3-pointer from Battle on the left wing, capping a 23-4 run and putting the Buckeyes ahead 70-64 with 4:50 to play.
It was powered throughout by some high-level defense, key buckets from Dale Bonner and the passion of a crowd that packed the lower bowl of Value City Arena and stood for the majority of the final 10 minutes, roaring ever louder as each Ohio State bucket chipped away at the Bulldogs.
That run wasn't enough, though. Georgia tied it at 70 and took a 75-74 lead before Bruce Thornton's stutter-step finish on the right block put the Buckeyes back ahead with 1:51 to play. Thornton hit one of two free throws with 19.1 seconds left to pull the Buckeyes within 79-77, and when Georgia turned it over the Buckeyes called timeout with 10.1 seconds left to set up their offense.
Thornton got a pretty clean 3-point look from straight-on, but it didn't fall. The ball was knocked out of bounds with 1.2 seconds left and, after video review, Ohio State maintained possession for one final attempt that ended with Battle's miss.
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"Proud of the way we responded after multiple lead changes and the fight we showed," Diebler said. "It just felt like we ran out of gas there a little bit when we were able to push it up (to a six-point lead).
"I felt like they hit some shots that were tough and we missed a couple that I’d love to give those guys a second run at those and I think they hit them. I’m proud of the way our guys fought until the end and grateful for the energy in the arena."
The loss now sends Ohio State into an offseason where the transfer portal will be closely monitored. Only two Buckeyes are out of collegiate eligibility: Dale Bonner and Jamison Battle. Diebler will have to fill out his coaching staff, which was bolstered by Monday’s news that former associate head coach Dave Dickerson was returning after six years as head coach at USC Upstate, and assess which players will stay and which ones will depart.
The Buckeyes were 14-11 when Chris Holtmann was fired and Diebler replaced him on an interim, then full-time, basis. Ohio State closed the year 8-3 with Diebler in charge.
As the Buckeyes (22-14) shook hands and stared at the offseason, Zed Key and Battle rushed to the stands to hug family members. Ohio State's student section chanted Diebler's name. As the players exited the court, they were sent off by a standing ovation.
Battle led the Buckeyes with 22 points. Thornton had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists.
Leading by one at halftime, Georgia (20-16) took control early in the second half. When coach Jake Diebler called time out at 16:51, Georgia had opened up a 46-37 lead and was on an 8-0 run capped by a Noah Thomasson 3-pointer. Devin Royal scored in the paint on Ohio State's next possessions, but Georgia pushed it to a 51-39 lead when Frank Anselem-Ibe spun around Thornton and threw down a two-handed dunk and Blue Cain followed with a 3-pointer.
The Buckeyes rallied, and when Zed Key slammed home a pass from Thornton at 13:47 he pulled them within 51-47 as Georgia coach Mike White called timeout.
He got his desired result: Georgia scored on its next four possessions for a 9-0 run and pushed its lead to a game-high 13 points when Anselem-Ibe collected his own miss and finished with 12:19 to play. It felt like the death knell for Ohio State's season, but it was just a prelude to a thrilling finish.
A first half with three ties and nine lead changes featured five in the final 1:51 a sequence started by a 3-pointer from former Illinois guard RJ Melendez that gave Georgia a 32-31 lead. It was the second of six possessions to close the half, all of which featured points and the last of which was a Silas Demary Jr. put-back of his own miss with three seconds left to give Georgia a 36-35 lead.
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The 35 points were the fewest in a first half for the Buckeyes in the NIT and the halftime deficit was also a first. Georgia led for the majority thanks to its defense, which hedged Ohio State’s ball screens hard and far from the basket, taking the Buckeyes out of their rhythm and allowing the Bulldogs to build a 15-8 lead seven minutes into the game. Ohio State tied it at 15 with a 7-0 run capped by a Taison Chatman jumper from just inside the 3-point line in the left corner.
Georgia responded, pushing its lead back to four points on three occasions before a Bruce Thornton 3-pointer with 6:12 left – Ohio State’s first of the night after six misses – ignited a run. Okpara slammed home a Gayle alley-oop to put Ohio State ahead 24-23 and Jamison Battle swished a transition 3 as White called timeout at 4:55 to stem the momentum.
The Buckeyes were without freshman wing Scotty Middleton, who missed the first two NIT games while dealing with a family situation back home in Orlando. Middleton returned to the team but had not practiced enough to participate, and he did not sit on the bench during the game.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State rallies but falls to Georgia in NIT quarterfinals
