COLUMBUS — For 25 minutes of basketball, Ohio State appeared poised to end its lengthy losing streak and regain some badly needed confidence as the season enters the stretch run.
Instead, by the time the final horn had sounded, the Buckeyes had secured perhaps their worst loss of the season as Indiana erased an 18-point deficit in the second half to leave Columbus with an improbable 76-73 win.
Anthony Leal’s three-pointer with 22 seconds to play capped off the furious Indiana comeback, and a turnover on Ohio State’s ensuing possession essentially sealed the deal as the Hoosiers dealt the Buckeyes a massive gut punch in what’s been a season full of them.
Malik Reneau scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the second half to lead the Indiana charge, and he added 14 rebounds in a dominant performance. Trey Galloway added 19 of his 25 points in the second half to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
Roddy Gayle Jr. and Jamison Battle led Ohio State with 19 points each, but the duo combined to shoot just 3-12 in the second half as the Buckeyes were held to 31 points over the final 20 minutes.
With its latest loss, Ohio State has now dropped five straight games and eight of its last nine to fall to 13-10 on the season and 3-9 in Big Ten play.
The game was tied at 13 at the under-12 media timeout of the first half, but Ohio State began to take over during the next four minutes coming out of the break. Gayle’s three-pointer sparked a 12-2 run that was capped by a Bruce Thornton three, giving the Buckeyes a 25-15 lead with under eight minutes remaining in the half.
Ohio State’s lead remained in double digits for the rest of the half, and Gayle’s layup on the final possession of the half sent the Buckeyes into halftime with its largest lead of the game at 42-29. Gayle finished the half with 15 points to lead all scorers.
Despite just a 2-6 showing from behind the arc, Ohio State shot 50% from the field in the first half while turning eight turnovers from a sloppy Indiana team into 16 points to build a sizable cushion.
The halftime break did little to cool off the Ohio State offense as it scored five quick points in the opening minute of the second half to push its lead to 18 points at 47-29. But just as quickly as Ohio State could build its sizable lead, the game was flipped on its head as the Buckeyes suffered from the all-too-familiar issues on both ends of the floor that have plagued them throughout second halves during the conference season.
An 11-0 Indiana run, including a trio of buckets from Galloway, trimmed the Ohio State lead to 51-42 with just over 13 minutes to play as the Hoosiers began to show life for the first time since early in the first period.
Ohio State was able to momentarily stave off the rising Indiana momentum over the next few minutes as the lead hovered around 10 points midway through the second half.
A pair of free throws from Zed Key pushed Ohio State’s lead back to 12 points at 65-53 as the clock ticked under seven minutes, but that’s as good as it would get for the Buckeyes as the wheels began to fall off under the pressure of Indiana’s surging comeback bid.
A five-point spurt by Galloway brought Indiana within seven points with 6:34 to play as the angst continued to rise inside Value City Arena, and Ohio State never found an answer.
With Ohio State in the midst of a six-minute field goal drought, Indiana continued to chip away at its deficit, drawing to within two points at 65-63 on a Galloway jumper with five minutes to play.
Gayle ended a 10-0 Indiana run with a pair of free throws to momentarily extend Ohio State’s lead to 67-63 on the ensuing possession, but the Hoosiers continued to throw haymakers.
Galloway’s three-pointer, his third of the game, brought Indiana to within a point with just over four minutes to play. Felix Okpara’s dunk, Ohio State’s first made field goal since the 10:33 mark, pushed the lead back to three, setting up a thrilling final three minutes that saw the lead change hands three times.
A layup from Reneau again drew Indiana to within a point, and following a Gayle turnover, Kel’el Ware finally pushed the Hoosiers ahead with a three to claim a 70-69 lead with 2:46 to play. The lead was the first for Indiana since the 15:24 mark of the first half.
Anthony Leal’s free throw extended the Indiana lead to two points before Ohio State’s Jamison Battle tied the game on a jumper with 1:40 to play.
Despite squandering the massive lead, Ohio State still found itself in a position to win the game with less than a minute to play as Battle was fouled on a drive with just 37 seconds left, sending him to the line for a pair of free throws. Battle connected on both to give the Buckeyes a 73-71 lead and put them within one stop of potentially putting the game on ice.
That stop never came, though, as Leal delivered the shot of the game —and perhaps his career —on the ensuing possession.
As the clock ticked below 30 seconds, Galloway drove to the rim to potentially tie the game. While the drive was well-defended with Okpara in position to force Galloway to finish over the top of him, Gayle drifted down from his defensive position to help on the drive, leaving Leal alone in the corner.
Galloway’s kick out to Leal was on the money, and Leal buried the wide-open look to give Indiana a 74-73 lead it wouldn’t relinquish. The three was Leal’s only long-distance attempt of the game and just his sixth made three of the season.
With 22 seconds still on the clock, Ohio State remained alive with what would seemingly be the final possession. That possession never ended with a shot, however, as Battle was stripped of the ball on the perimeter. Galloway came up with the loose ball and immediately pushed it up the floor to Ware, who blew an uncontested layup while appearing to injure himself.
Leal was able to come away with the offensive rebound and was subsequently fouled, though, and his two free throws increased Indiana’s lead to three with just two seconds to play.
Ohio State was able to get a quality look at the buzzer, but Thornton’s three wouldn’t fall, finishing off the devastating collapse and sending the Indiana bench spilling onto the floor with elation.
Following the loss, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said of his team squandering its second 18-point second-half lead of the season, “I just don’t think we were aggressive enough tonight on either end.”
With few answers to give in a short but not exactly sweet press conference, Holtmann was asked what gives him confidence his team will be able to figure out how to preserve second-half leads moving forward. His response was, simply, “We’ll see.”
Ohio State will look to end its losing streak on Saturday when it returns to action with a home game against Maryland. Tip-off for the game is set for 4 p.m.
Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.
