In Jake Diebler's first game, Ohio State survives upset bid, beats Cornell in NIT thriller
The coach was picked. The players voted to extend the season. Ohio State, under Jake Diebler, wanted to make an NIT run and play as long as possible.
Cornell had other ideas. In the first official game of the Diebler era, the Big Red did the things necessary to win in March. They hit timely shots. They converted their layups. Perhaps most importantly, they dictated their pace
The Buckeye found a way to win anyway. Jamison Battle hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 43 seconds left, Roddy Gayle Jr. forced a turnover, Devin Royal dunked a press-break pass from Evan Mahaffey and Ohio State (21-13) shook off the upset bid in a first-round NIT thriller, beating Cornell (22-8) 88-83 on Tuesday night at Value City Arena.
It was frenetic. The game featured 17 lead changes and six ties, with Battle's 3-pointer from the left corner the last and most important one. Ohio State will play this weekend in the second round of the tournament and host either Virginia or Richmond. The time and date are yet to be announced.
Battle and Gayle each had 17 points to lead the Buckeyes, who attempted a season-high 75 shots.
Ohio State leading scorer and captain Bruce Thornton left the game with 10 minutes to play, went to the locker room and did not return to action. He watched the remainder of the game from the bench, and Diebler said he will be evaluated for a sprained ankle.
The Big Red entered Value City Arena having lost 21 straight games against top-50 KenPom.com teams, a streak dating back to an 87-69 win against No. 4 seed Wisconsin in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. It was also their last postseason experience outside of the Ivy League Tournament, but none of that showed on a team without a single player to have played in the postseason.
The regular season’s results showed why. Cornell’s 10 true road wins were tied for fourth in the nation, and its 22 wins were one shy of its most since it won 29 in 2009-10.
After leading by six at the half, Ohio State took a 67-66 lead on a Gayle Jr. 3-pointer with 7:33 remaining and the shot clock winding. It started a 7-0 run to put the Buckeyes ahead 71-66 and they had a chance to make it more, but Gayle turned it over in the paint on a drive through traffic and Cornell's Jake Fiegen hit a 3 to pull within two points.
It set up a frenetic finish.
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Cornell set the pace early, taking the opening tip and scoring on a Nazir Williams layup five seconds into the game. Able and willing to push the pace with every opportunity, the Big Red leaned into their preferred speed and had the Buckeyes on their heels early. When they weren’t cutting past the Ohio State defense, they were raining 3s, and Diebler had to use his first timeout with 15:55 left in the first half as Cornell got consecutive 3s from Cooper Noard and a backdoor cut and layup from AK Okereke to take a 12-6 lead.
Ohio State, took, was getting pretty good looks at the bucket. The Buckeyes just weren’t making them. Ohio State missed 15 of its first 18 shots but had grabbed 10 offensive rebounds only to still be trailing 12-6 a moment after Diebler’s timeout. Cornell pushed its lead to 19-9 with a 7-1 run capped by a Noard backdoor cut and layup against Thornton, and the cheering contingent behind the Big Red bench grew louder when Guy Ragland Jr. buried a deep 3 from the right wing in front of the Ohio State bench to make it a 24-16 lead.
Thornton hit 3s on consecutive possessions to take a 26-24 lead with 6:59 left and Cornell answered with a 9-0 run on three made 3-pointers, pushing its lead out again this time to seven points. Down 33-26, Ohio State finally got things going offensively and it started with a Devin Royal 3-pointer – his third of the entire season. Thornton followed with another, and a moment later Jamison Battle swished one to put the Buckeyes ahead 37-36 with 2:19 left in the half.
It was all part of an 18-5 run in the final 4:28 that gave Ohio State a 44-38 halftime lead.
Both teams were shorthanded. Ohio State played without freshman Scotty Middleton, who returned home to address a family situation. Cornell's leading scorer, Chris Manon, watched the game from the bench with a walking boot on his left leg and needed crutches to get around. He averaged 12.5 points per game.
Cornell was also without Keller Boothby, a 6-7 forward who averaged 5.6 points in 16.5 minutes per game. He entered the transfer portal.
Ohio State draped off the upper bowl for the arena, as it did for its most recent NIT appearance in 2016.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State wins thriller, taking down Cornell in NIT first round
