OHIO STATE 67 – RUTGERS 66
This will be a tough one to swallow for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights men’s basketball team. RU held a two-point lead with just seconds remaining when Ohio state’s Tanner Holden hit the game winning three-pointer as time expired to send the Buckeyes to a wild victory.
However, it appeared that Rutgers should have won the game. Bruce Thornton appeared to have stepped out of bounds before passing the ball off to Holden for the game winning shot. The play was never reviewed.
“We were one play away and we got to give credit to (Chris) Holtmann. Ohio State’s tough and physical. I thought we played well. I thought we made plays down the stretch. I thought that we executed when we needed to. We didn’t get that last stop. I thought (the shooter) kind of went out of bounds. I’m not sure. But they hit a huge three and won the game,” Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell said after the loss.
The wild turn of events all transpired in the final 5.8 seconds of the game.
Paul Mulcahy was fouled and hit both shots to give Rutgers a 65-62 lead. After Thornton hit a couple of free throw shots on the other end of the court for Ohio State, Caleb McConnell was sent to the line, but missed his second of two free throw shots. The ball was rebounded by Ohio State, leading to Thornton’s controversial pass to Holden.
