Freshman D.J. Carton had 15 points and Kaleb Wesson had 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out late as No. 5 Ohio State defeated No. 6 Kentucky 71-65 at T-Mobile Arena in the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas on Saturday.
The Buckeyes (11-1) also got 10 points from Kyle Young.
Nate Sestina led the Wildcats (8-3) with 17 points. Tyrese Maxey had 15 points, and Ashton Hagans added 14 to go with nine assists.
Ohio State shot 50 percent (22 of 44) and had a 33-25 rebounding edge. Carton made 5 of 6 shots from the field and all four of his free-throw attempts.
The Buckeyes were up 62-56 when Wesson fouled out with 3:30 to play. With the score 62-57, Carton made a jumper for a 64-57 lead with 1:17 left.
EJ Montgomery's bucket cut the deficit to 64-59 with 57 seconds remaining before CJ Walker hit a 3-pointer for a 67-59 advantage with 28 seconds left to ice the win.
OSU took a 51-44 lead with 10:47 left on two free throws by Wesson. After a free throw by Hagans, Maxey made a 3-pointer to make it 51-48. It was the first trey in 10 tries by a Kentucky player other than Sestina, who was 5 for 8 at that point.
The Buckeyes led 37-36 at the half with neither team able to build more than a four-point lead. The score was tied five times and there were five lead changes in the half.
Each team wanted to end a rough week on a good note. The Wildcats lost to Utah 69-66 on the same court on Wednesday. The Buckeyes were beaten for the first time on Sunday, 84-71 at Minnesota, before defeating Southeast Missouri State 80-48 on Tuesday.
The Wildcats host Louisville on Dec. 28. Ohio State next plays No. 25 West Virginia in Cleveland on Dec. 29.
--Field Level Media
Ohio St. | Kentucky | |
D.J. Carton 15 | Scoring | Nate Sestina 17 |
CJ Walker 5 | Assists | Ashton Hagans 9 |
Kaleb Wesson 8 | Rebounds | Tyrese Maxey 6 |
Kaleb Wesson 5 | Free Throws Made | Ashton Hagans 4 |
Luther Muhammad 2 | Steals | Ashton Hagans 3 |
D.J. Carton 2 | Blocks | Keion Brooks Jr. 2 |