WATCH: Tanner Holden hits wild buzzer-beater to defeat Rutgers
Just when it looked like Rutgers was going to pull off a victory over Ohio State Thursday night, the Buckeyes pulled off the impossible. Tanner Holden hit a wild, game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to propel the Buckeyes to victory.
Rutgers’ Caleb McConnell missed a free throw with five seconds left, setting up a scramble to the other end of the court. That’s when Holden caught a pass from Bruce Thornton to set up his three-pointer to give the Buckeyes a 67-66 victory at Value City Arena. It was Holden’s lone bucket of the game.
It also made for quite a scene as the Buckeyes celebrated at center court.
Holden is in his first year with the Buckeyes after transferring from Wright State over the offseason. He entered play Thursday averaging five points per game and with two three-pointers on the year. But his third trey of the year proved to be a big one as he propelled the 25th-ranked Buckeyes to their seventh win of the season.
Zed Key led the way for Ohio State Thursday night with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go with a game-high 12 rebounds. He continued to impress early on this season as he entered the matchup against Rutgers as the Buckeyes’ second-leading scorer and top rebounder. Brice Sensabaugh, Ohio State’s leading scorer, also added 13 points to the effort.
Ohio State also had an impressive showing on defense against Rutgers, especially in the second half. The Buckeyes held the Scarlet Knights to 29.4% from three-point territory, including an 0-for-5 showing after halftime. They were also able to capitalize on turnovers, turning 13 Rutgers miscues into 18 points to help pull out the victory.
Now, Chris Holtmann’s group will have a break in the schedule before taking on North Carolina Dec. 17. That game is part of the CBS Sports Classic in New York.