Nebraska sprints past Ohio State men in second half, 79-71

Despite a 30-point day by Micah Parrish, supporting Buckeyes floundered offensively to lose a winnable game in Lincoln.

It was Super Sunday in the Midwest, but before the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs grabbed the nation’s collective attention, Ohio State men’s basketball headed to Lincoln, Nebraska to try and put an end to the Nebraska Cornhuskers (16-8, 6-7) three-game winning streak. Even with a career game for Micah Parrish, Nebraska extended their winning streak with a 76-66 win over the Buckeyes.

Nebraska came out the aggressors, and after the two sides combined to make their first five shots, the Cornhuskers went on a run. Nebraska’s Brice Williams scored six points in a 13-2 ‘Huskers run that put the home side up nine points in front of a loud Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Bringing the Buckeyes back into the conversation was forward Micah Parrish. The graduate senior transfer scored the next eight points for Ohio State and guard Bruce Thornton, fresh off his 31-point game in the comeback win over the Maryland Terrapins, joined in, scoring four points. The two put Ohio State back in the lead, outscoring Nebraska 18-8 in 7:57 of game clock.

Aiding the Buckeyes was forward Juwan Gary going to the bench with foul troubles. The senior picked up two in the first half, limiting him to nine minutes in the first half. When Gary sat, Ohio State capitalized by allowing only two points in the run of play in nearly six minutes of the half.

The Scarlet and Gray benefited from the aggressive Nebraska defense, going to the line eight times in the first half, compared to four for the home side. Ohio State couldn’t capitalize much on the free shots, going 50 percent in the half, which included the trio of “bigs” Aaron Bradshaw, Sean Stewart, and Evan Mahaffey going 2-for-6.

Despite allowing the Cornhuskers to shoot 51.9 percent in the first half, the Buckeyes entered halftime up 39-34 thanks to strong defense in the final three minutes of the first half. Nebraska missed all four shots they took, scoring three points from the free throw line while Mobley hit his third three-point shot of the half and Thornton scoring his eighth point of the game, putting him in 29th place in Ohio State’s record books.

Parrish didn’t slow down to start the second half, and the Buckeyes needed it. After hitting a three-point shot to start the scoring, the Cornhuskers went on an eight-point run led by Gary, scoring the first five points. Parrish responded with a layup of his own to stop the run and put Ohio State back in the lead.

The forward single-handedly kept the Buckeyes in the game to start the second half, scoring the first nine points of the period while the Cornhuskers tried to erase their one possession deficit.

However, Parrish couldn’t do it alone and the Cornhuskers tied the game and went into the lead on a poor turnover in the Buckeyes’ defensive end. Forward Aaron Bradshaw had his pocket picked, giving Nebraska a fast break layup that put them in the lead and prompted head coach Jake Diebler to call a timeout.

At the timeout, Buckeyes not named Micah Parrish shot 0-for-8 from the floor and Diebler saw the his team needed to stop the Cornhusker momentum to keep the game close.

A brief pause didn’t help and the Cornhuskers went on an 11-point run, led by five points from Williams. Thankfully for the Buckeyes, a player not in a Parrish jersey joined the scoring when Mobley hit the next five Ohio State points. Parrish added a three of his own on the back end of Mobley’s points to quickly turn an eight-point deficit into a single possession with 6:25 remaining in the game.

In the next three minutes, Nebraska tried to find separation but Ohio State kept fighting, After hitting two free throws, Mobley hit his fifth three-point shot of the game, this time from far behind the arc, assisted by Parrish for his first assist of the game. This got Ohio State back within two, 62-60, with just under four minutes remaining.

Ohio State still needed another player to add to the production in the second half, with only Parrish and Mobley scoring to that point of the half. Then, with 3:02 remaining, guard Ques Glover burned the final timeout for the Buckeyes after running baseline and getting caught in the corner without an outlet. At the same time, Nebraska got into the bonus and controlled the clock for the rest of the game.

Out of the timeout, Mobley took another three, but this time it couldn’t fall and Nebraska capitalized with Williams scoring his 20th point of the game on a midrange jumper. It put the home side up seven points, and erased some hope for the visiting Buckeyes.

Parrish again tried to add to the hope, hitting a corner three to bring the game within five points, but the Buckeyes had to foul to stop the game from that point. Nebraska had the ball in the hands of Williams who entered the game shooting 90 percent from the free throw line. Each time Williams got to the charity stripe, he added to his double-double performance and stretched the lead further.

It wasn’t all good for the Cornhuskers late. With 45 seconds remaining, forward Berke Buyuktuncel landed hard on his ankle, needing help off the court and not putting any weight on his left ankle. The Turkish big started 20 of 22 games for Nebraska.

Nebraska saw the win through behind 24 points and 10 rebounds by Williams and 17 points by Gary. Mobley was the only other Buckeye in double figures on the day, adding 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

John Mobley Jr. Keeps Shooting Deep

The guard continued his nation-leading three-point shooting efficiency for a freshman from the jump. Mobley hit his first two three-point shots of the game, and his efficiency was important with the Cornhuskers hitting their first three shots of the game. It gave the Buckeyes an early lead, albeit a short-lived advantage with the Cornhuskers responding with 13 of the next 15 points.

Nebraska Fans Stay Classy

In the second half of the first period, the Buckeyes faced two quick injuries taking players out of the game for additional care. First, forward Sean Stewart received an elbow to the face from forward Juwan Gary on a follow through under the basket. Then, forward Devin Royal and forward Andrew Morgan collided under the basket, with the Cornhusker Morgan landing on Royal’s ankle.

Both times, the Nebraska faithful actively booed the two injured Buckeyes, as if the injuries somehow stopped the Cornhuskers.

Stewart was able to return to the game shortly, but Royal did not return until the start of the second half. After going to the locker room for some time, he came back to the bench and watched the final seven or so minutes from the pine.

Parrish Takes Over

The former San Diego State and Oakland forward has been hit or miss in the scoring column in his final year of NCAA basketball, but not in the first half. Parrish’s 14 points in the first half paced all Ohio State scorers. In the hot streak, it seemed like Parrish could do no wrong, including one play where the graduate senior stole the ball, went on a fast break and then earned an and-one after forcing contact on a made layup. Nebraska’s Rollie Worster was called for the foul.

First Half Defense

Entering the game, Nebraska’s leading scorer Williams was on a tear, scoring 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five rebounds, but the Buckeye defense played so well against the rest of the Cornhuskers that it didn’t bury the visitors.

The rest of Nebraska shot 7-of-17 in the first half.

Parrish Hits Career Mark

With 13 minutes remaining in the second half, Parrish’s hot shooting hand continued, and the graduate’s basket was representative of how important he was to the Buckeyes on Sunday. Following a missed layup by Royal, Parrish grabbed the offensive rebound and battled through three Nebraska defenders in the paint to hit a layup.

It gave Parrish 23 points, eclipsing his previous single game career high of 22 points scored in the Buckeyes’ upset win of the Purdue Boilermakers on Jan. 21.

Nebraska’s Run

After strong defense in the first half, Nebraska broke through in the second half, going on an 11-point run for four and a half minutes. It swung the Buckeyes’ lead into a seven-point Cornhusker advantage.

While Mobley ended the run, also becoming only the second player to score for Ohio State in over half of the second period, the Cornhuskers hit a three in response to keep the lead strong, requiring another comeback for the Buckeyes if they hoped to continue their current form of four wins in the last five games.

Big Mobley and Parrish Moments

After Mobley hit a midrange jumper, the freshman scored his fourth three of the contest, which motivated Parrish to do the same. Alone on the wing, Nebraska tried to close out the graduate senior but Parrish stayed patient, let the Cornhusker jump past him and hit a crucial shot from beyond the arc for Ohio State mens hoops.

Out of the Nebraska timeout to slow down the pair, Parrish played lockdown defense on starting guard Rollie Worster when he tried to go to the basket but Parrish stuck with it, knocking the ball away and requiring a Cornhusker timeout with just over a second remaining on the shot clock. The play ended with a shot clock violation.

Two Isn’t Enough

Parrish and Mobley scored 49 of the Buckeyes’ 69 points in the loss, with only six points of the second half not coming from one of the two. The lack of offensive diversity for Ohio State meant added attention on the two and nobody ended up saving the Scarlet and Gray, with Thornton adding one made free throw and five points for Evan Mahaffey.

What’s Next

Ohio State (14-10, 6-7) returns home for three games at the Schottenstein Center in eight days. It begins with the Washington Huskies, a team the Buckeyes have only played once in their program histories, ending in a 77-66 win for Ohio State.

Then The Rivalry renews when the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines head to Columbus on Sunday in the lone matchup in the regular season between the sides.