Kaleb Wesson had 22 points and 10 rebounds and No. 15 Ohio State survived a last-second shot attempt by Bucknell in a 73-71 victory Saturday at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
The Buckeyes (9-1) led by 11 late in the second half, but Bucknell rallied and had the ball with 14 seconds left and trailing by two. Bruce Moore's 3-point attempt was off target at the buzzer for the Bison (4-4).
Keyshawn Woods had 13 points for the Buckeyes, who did not make a field goal in the last five minutes.
Avi Toomer and Kimbal Mackenzie each had 13 points for Bucknell and Jimmy Sotos added 12.
The Bison missed 13 out of 14 shots from the field during a long cold spell, enabling the Buckeyes to build a 69-58 lead with 4:28 to play
Bucknell chipped away and pulled to within 70-65 on a Sotos layup with 42 seconds left. A free throw by Woods put the Buckeyes up 71-65.
Mackenzie made a 3-pointer with 33 seconds to play, but Wesson answered with two free throws to keep Ohio State ahead by five.
Toomer drained a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left and John Meeks made a steal with 14 seconds left to set up the final possession.
Bucknell led 40-39 at the half after going on a 15-0 run.
OSU went ahead 37-25 with 4:04 left on Wesson's basket before the Bison, who hadn't played since defeating La Salle 92-79 on Dec. 4, took over for the remainder of the half.
Nate Sestina also finished in double figures for Bucknell with 10 points. The Bison shot 40 percent (12-of-30) from behind the arc.
C.J. Jackson added 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Buckeyes, who outrebounded the Bison by a 39-29 margin.
--Field Level Media
Bucknell | Ohio St. | |
Kimbal MacKenzie 13 | Scoring | Kaleb Wesson 22 |
Jimmy Sotos 5 | Assists | C.J. Jackson 6 |
Jimmy Sotos 7 | Rebounds | Kaleb Wesson 10 |
Bruce Moore 4 | Free Throws Made | Kaleb Wesson 9 |
Jimmy Sotos 2 | Steals | Luther Muhammad 1 |
Bruce Moore 1 | Blocks | C.J. Jackson 1 |