COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 23 ranked Ohio State men’s basketball team improved to 2-0 on the young 2020-21 season with a 74-64 victory over UMass Lowell (1-2) Sunday afternoon. Senior Duane Washington Jr. led four Buckeyes in double figures with 21 points while senior Kyle Young and sophomore E.J. Liddell pulled down eight rebounds apiece.
Justice Sueing followed up his fine debut game with the Buckeyes – 19 points and eight rebounds Wednesday vs. Illinois State – with 15 points and six rebounds. C.J. Walker, who was 9-of-10 from the free throw line, added 13 points while Liddell chipped in 11. Freshmen Zed Key was solid off the bench with eight points and four rebounds.
“Give our guys a lot of credit for finishing the game and making the necessary plays when they needed to,” said fourth-year Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, though.”
Ohio State played without junior guard Musa Jallow, who sat out the game on the bench in a walking boot. Holtmann said after the game he found out after the tip that he had a lower leg issue and that something had happened in warmups.
Meanwhile, UMass Lowell was led by guard Obadiah Noel with 15 points. Guards Anthony Blunt and Bryce Daley scored 11 points apiece.
“I thought our team played well,” said River Hawks coach Pat Duquette. “It was an exciting game and we had a chance to win it right down to the last minute, which is a great spot for us to be in.
“This was really exciting for our guys to make this trip to come out here and play Ohio State of the Big Ten, such a well-coached team and program. It was a really nice trip and we were grateful to get two games in because we all know how hard that is these days.
“So, overall I was really pleased with the way we played, but I thought we made some careless mistakes at a crucial point in the game and against a good team like Ohio State, that’s all it takes.”
For the game, Ohio State shot 40 percent from the field but only 22.2%. from beyond the arc (4 of 18). UMass Lowell shot 37.5 pct. from the field for the game. Ohio State held a 41-31 rebounding advantage.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes next play on Wednesday, Dec. 2, with a 5 p.m. game against Morehead State University at Value City Arena.
The River Hawks’ next matchup has yet to be determined, as their next two non-conference games on the schedule have been postponed.
