EAST LANSING – Fans silently filed out of their seats of the Breslin Center as the final shot of Sunday’s game dropped through the bottom of the net.
A contested three-pointer at the buzzer from Ohio State senior guard Dale Bonner gave the Buckeyes a 60-57 win over Michigan State on Sunday afternoon, marking OSU’s first victory in East Lansing in 12 years.
“I would say this one stings about as much as any loss I’ve had in eight or ten years,” said MSU head coach Tom Izzo.
After leading by a dozen with just over eleven minutes to go, MSU collapsed on both ends, going silent on offense and failing to get stops on defense for prolonged stretches.
“We didn’t deserve to win the game,” Izzo said. “They deserved to win the game.”
Ohio State snagged its second upset win in as many weeks after a victory against No. 3 Purdue last Sunday at home.
“Our players, they had some good moments on the road,” said Ohio State interim head coach Jake Diebler. “For them to push through like they did today, again says a lot about them.”
The Buckeyes clawed their way back into a game that was never fully out of reach, in large part because of multiple rotational pieces who stepped up in the absence of OSU’s second leading scorer, senior Jamison Battle.
“I felt that [Jamison Battle] was still out there really,” said freshman Devin Royal, who recorded a team-high 14 points off the bench. “He was on the bench talking to everybody. The only difference is he wasn’t on the floor. He still showed great leadership.”
Both teams had lackluster shooting performances. MSU shot only 40 percent from the field, compared to OSU, who shot 38 percent.
However, the Buckeyes recorded 13 offensive rebounds to MSU’s eight, as well as 14 second-chance points.
Junior guard Jaden Akins and graduate guard Tyson Walker both struggled mightily from the field. Walker was 5-15 and 1-6 from three, while Akins went 1-9 and missed all three of his long range attempts.
“[Tyson] has gotta realize that people are going to come at him more,” said Izzo.
“They’re gonna double him, he’s gonna come off ball screens, they’re going to do things. For some reason tonight I thought it really frustrated him. Like I said, if my two shooters shoot that way, no one’s going to win games with that.”
Freshman forward Xavier Booker recorded his first career start, logging 17 minutes and recording seven points, three rebounds, and three blocks. Booker also had a game-high plus minus of 11, but saw only five minutes of action in the second half.
“Those guards were running off ball screens and we just didn’t think [Booker] was available to do things as some of our veterans,” said Izzo. “Just a coaching decision we made.”
Outside of Royal’s team-high, sophomores Roddy Gale Jr. and Bruce Thornton recorded 12 points and eight rebounds, and 11 points and four rebounds, respectively. Felix Okpara also made his presence felt, recording 10 points and six rebounds, along with Zed Key, who had four points and seven boards.
With the loss, MSU falls to 17-11 on the season and 9-8 in conference play. The Spartans will head to West Lafayette, Indiana to take on No. 3 Purdue on Saturday March 2, at 8 p.m.
