Ohio State (14-10, 6-7) found itself on the losing side of a back-and-forth affair Sunday afternoon in front of 15,633 fans inside Pinnacle Bank Arena, falling 79-71 to Nebraska (16-8, 6-7 Big Ten) 79-71 due to a poor second-half outing.
The Buckeyes appeared like they were in line for another resume-boosting road win when they held an eight-point lead early in the second half, but that opportunity quickly went by the wayside when Nebraska went on a long 24-8 run to go up eight with just under 7:30 left in the game.
Ohio State tried to mount a comeback and eventually cut the deficit to two with around four minutes remaining due to the efforts of Micah Parrish – who finished the day with a career-high 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting – but another tough second-half stretch, this time a 17-11 closing run for Nebraska, doomed the Buckeyes for good and gave the Huskers their fourth straight win.
Nebraska seemed like it was in store for a fairly easy afternoon at the office when it made 11 of its first 15 shots to take a 25-17 lead with 10:48 left in the half, but the Buckeyes buckled down defensively – forcing three turnovers and allowing just two field goals in the next 6:48 – to spur a 15-4 run that put it up 32-29 at 4:00 following a Mobley jumper.
Nebraska tied the game at 32 on the next possession with a three-point play from senior center Braxton Meah, but John Mobley jJr. responded on the other end with a deep three – his third of the half – to help OSU head into the break up 39-34.
33 of the Buckeyes’ 39 first-half points were scored by the backcourt trio of Mobley, Parrish and Bruce Thornton, with Parrish leading the way with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
Parrish continued his hot streak out of the break with his third triple of the game at 19:08 to put the Buckeyes up 42-34 before Nebraska responded with a quick 8-0 run to tie the game off a contested three by sophomore forward Berke Buyuktuncel.
Ohio State went back up by four points twice in the ensuing minutes due to the brilliance of Parrish, who added another six points in that stretch, but it was followed by a 14-2 spurt for the home team that put them up 58-50 with 7:24 left after another Buyuktuncel three.
The Buckeyes bounced back by getting three combined triples from Mobley and Parrish in the next 3:24 to trail 62-60 with 3:47 left, but that comeback stalled when they were held to just three field goals and allowed Nebraska to score 17 points the rest of way to give the home team its fourth straight win.
Aside from Parrish’s career-high and Mobley’s 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-10 shooting from three, the Buckeyes had a difficult day on offense. The remaining Buckeyes who entered the game combined for just 20 points on 8-of-25 shooting (32.0 percent), including 0-of-3 shooting from three.
Ohio State also struggled inside, with Nebraska holding a 37-28 advantage in rebounds and 40-26 edge in paint points. Those discrepancies were in large part caused by Buyuktuncel and senior guard Brice Williams, who combined for 39 points and 16 rebounds.
