Host of Buckeyes power their way to exhibition victory
Just past midcourt, COLUMBUS — Jimmy Sotos spied an opening near the basket. With Kalen Etzler streaking down the left wing, the fifthyear senior guard threw a lob near the basket and counted on Etzler’s athletic ability to pull it down.
The pass was just a little bit off, though, and Etzler couldn’t come up with it. It went down for a turnover as Sotos tapped his chest as an apology.
It won’t go into the record books, and it won’t happen again this season. Etzler will redshirt and Sotos was among the final first-half substitutions for the Buckeyes, who would easily handle Division II foe Indianapolis, 82-46, in an exhibition Monday night at Value City Arena that serves as the final tune-up for the season.
“We were able to see some different combinations tonight,” OSU coach Chris Holtmann said. “That was probably the best thing, and we were able to see some of our young guys play together, put a uniform on. Some of our young guys did some good things. They showed some glimpses of some really good things. I thought our effort waned at times and we need to be better with that. I thought our concentration waned at times as well, but I thought we had some good moments from some guys.”
As is typically the case, the Buckeyes never trailed against the Greyhounds. After starting a lineup of Jamari Wheeler, Meechie Johnson, Justin Ahrens, E.J. Liddell and Zed Key, Liddell drew an immediate double-team after Key won the opening tip and kicked it to the right corner for Ahrens to bury a wide-open 3-pointer.
It was the first of many attempts from deep for the Buckeyes, who took six of their first nine and nine of their first 13 shots from 3-point range. It amounted to only a 10-9 lead six minutes into the game, and Indianapolis missed a chance to take the lead when sophomore guard Josiah Tynes missed a pair of free throws the Buckeyes gave themselves some distance when Key scored through contact, celebrated with his traditional “finger guns” move and hit the free throw.
That started a 10-3 run capped when Key dunked a lob sent from Liddell at the top of the circle to make it 20-12.
At the break, second-year guard Gene Brown III closed the scoring with a 3-pointer to give the Buckeyes a 41-25 lead and cap a strong half for the 6-6 guard. A role player last season, Brown had seven first-half points, two rebounds, one steal and a forced shot-clock violation. Key had 10 points and seven rebounds during the first half, just ahead of Johnson, who had nine.
Brown led the Buckeyes with 15 points. Liddell, Key and Johnson all had 12, with Liddell and Key both adding nine rebounds.