Final 3-pointer falls short as Buckeyes are ousted from NIT
COLUMBUS — It all came down to one shot and 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
Down 79-77, Ohio State’s Roddy Gayle Jr. inbounded to Jamison Battle, who got off a 3-pointer coming to his left that looked true but only hit the rim. The final horn sounded and the Buckeyes bowed out of the NIT with an emotional, two-point loss to Georgia on Tuesday night.
Battle, the Big Ten’s leading 3-point shooter, was just slightly off on the final shot of his career.
“I thought it was good, but in the end, every shot I take I feel like is going in,” he said. “It was just another shot. Got the hip turn that me and coach (Brandon) Bailey work on every day and off the hands I felt like it was good.”
Seemingly left in the dust, down 13 with about 12 minutes to play, Ohio State mounted a comeback for the season. It started with a free throw from Gayle with 1:55 left and ended with a 3-pointer from Battle on the left wing, capping a 23-4 run and putting the Buckeyes ahead 70-64 with 4:50 to play.
It was powered throughout by some high-level defense, key buckets from Dale Bonner and the passion of a crowd that packed the lower bowl of Value City Arena and stood for the majority of the final 10 minutes, roaring ever louder as each Ohio State bucket chipped away.
That run wasn’t enough, though. Georgia tied it at 70 and the Buckeyes trailed 79-77 when Georgia turned it over with 10.1 seconds left. A Bruce Thornton 3-pointer didn’t fall and the ball was knocked out of bounds and Ohio State maintained possession for one final attempt that ended with Battle’s miss.