App State Opens Sport Robust, however Falters Late in Loss to Buckeyes

COLUMBUS, Ohio –  After a quick begin to go up by 12 with 8:13 to go within the first half, the App State males’s basketball group had loads of momentum going to the halftime break. But the skilled Ohio State Buckeyes discovered one other gear, and outscored App State 15-0 over the ultimate 5 minutes to take management of the sport. The Buckeyes ended up outscoring the Mountaineers by 17 within the second half and gained the sport 75-53 on their dwelling ground on Tuesday.
 
App State (2-2) led by 10 factors (25-15) with simply over 5 minutes to go within the opening half, however Ohio State (3-0) discovered its rhythm and ended the sport on a 60-28 run. This run included an prolonged 36-7 run that lasted from the 5:11 mark of the primary half to the 8:18 mark of the second half.
 
The free-throw line performed an enormous position on Tuesday because the Buckeyes outshot the Mountaineers 32-8 within the contest. App State noticed two of its guards (Alonzo Dodd and Eren Banks) seize three first-half fouls, which helped Ohio State rating factors on the line with out time coming off the clock. Ohio State’s 32 free throws are probably the most an App State opponent has tried in a recreation since Feb. 26, 2021, when Georgia Southern additionally tried 32 free throws in a double time beyond regulation recreation.
 
Kasen Jennings continued his sturdy begin to the season by pouring in a team-best 12 factors, marking his fourth straight double-figure recreation. This streak marks his longest since tallying 4 straight from Nov. 14-23 of the 2021-22 season when he was a member of Kennesaw State. Additionally, Jalen Tot tallied 9 factors, his Mountaineer greatest, and a team-best three 3-pointers.
 
How it Happened
In the lone high-major recreation on the Mountaineers’ schedule, Jennings scored the sport’s first factors after discovering the paint for a brief jumper. Brandon Noel, who scored a game-best 17 factors, recorded the primary Buckeye factors to tie the sport, however Jennings gave App State a three-point lead on the 17:25 mark with a 3-pointer to make it 5-2.
 
Neither group scored for practically the subsequent three minutes, nevertheless it was App State that broke the chilly spell, seeing Luke Wilson end a layup by way of contact to place it up 5. The Mountaineers continued to play sturdy protection to start out the sport, as Ohio State missed 10 of its first 11 photographs, earlier than the Mountaineers hit on one other three, this time by Tot, to place them up eight with 13:57 to play.
 
The Buckeyes sank two free throws to finish their scoreless spell, however App State saved its foot on the pedal and tallied seven of the subsequent 11 factors to go up by 9 by the midway level of the primary half. Jennings and Andrin Njock helped spark the run with factors earlier than Cristoph Tilly ended the fray with a basket.
 
With their lead at seven, Jason Clarke Jr. soared his manner into the paint and hit a reverse layup to make the rating 19-10 App State. After a miss on the opposite finish, Njock netted his second 3-pointer of the sport to place the Mountaineers forward 12, their largest lead of the sport, forcing a Buckeye timeout.
 
Ohio State scored a basket to tug again inside 10 with 6:55 to go, after which hit a 3-pointer to make it 15-23 a possession later. Clarke Jr. tallied a layup to push App State again forward by 10 with 5:29 to go, and head coach Dustin Kerns known as a timeout with the momentum absolutely on the aspect of the Mountaineers as play neared halftime.
 
Out of the timeout, the Buckeyes started working to trim the deficit and did simply that as they tallied 4 straight factors to make it a six-point recreation by the ultimate media break of the opening body. Then, John Mobley Jr. made a layup and 4 free throws to tie the rating at 25 with 1:15 to go. Two extra free throws by Mobley gave Ohio State its first lead with 33 seconds to play, and Bruce Thornton’s three on the buzzer gave Ohio State a five-point lead, capping off a 15-0 run over the ultimate 5 minutes of the half.
 
Despite the poor near the half, App State’s protection was strong to start out the sport because it held the Buckeyes to simply eight made area targets on 28 makes an attempt (28.6 p.c). Jennings paced App State’s offensive assault with seven first-half factors, with Njock following intently behind with six. Ohio State shot 13 of its 32 free throws within the opening half and made 12 of them.
 
Needing a spark to open the half, App State noticed buckets from Wilson and Clarke Jr. to make the rating 33-29 simply two minutes into the ultimate body, however Ohio State saved itself away from App State by drilling two threes and a free throw to go up by double digits by the primary media timeout.
 
Thornton capped off a four-point play out of the timeout to make it 41-29, however Michael Marcus Jr. buried a 3-pointer from the highest of the important thing to tug the Mountaineers inside 9 with quarter-hour to play within the recreation.
 
Following the Marcus Jr. three, Ohio State scored 16 straight factors, its second run of no less than 15 factors within the recreation, to take a commanding 25-point lead on the 9:24 mark. Jennings’ 3-point bucket ended App State’s seven-minute scoreless drought, however Noel hit on a layup out of a media timeout to make the rating 59-35 with 8:02 to play.
 
Noel accounted for eight of the subsequent 10 Buckeye factors to push them forward by 27 with simply over 4 minutes to play. Tot hit on his second 3-pointer of the sport to finish a 9-4 Buckeye run to make it 68-44 by the ultimate timeout of the sport. Ohio State retaliated with a 3-pointer and 4 free throws to go up 28, its largest benefit of the sport, with 90 seconds to play.
 
Although the Mountaineers scored the ultimate six factors of the sport, it was too late because the Buckeyes claimed a house win to make them 3-0 on the season.
 
Top Performers
Jennings’ 12 factors paced the Mountaineers on Tuesday as he reached double figures for the fourth straight recreation to open the season. Tot adopted intently behind with 9 factors to match his Mountaineer excessive that he set final Wednesday towards Carolina University, and buried a season-high three treys, which was probably the most within the recreation by any participant. Both Njock and Clarke Jr. scored eight factors, with Clarke Jr.’s tally marking his profession greatest. Clarke Jr. was 3-4 from the sector and likewise dished out two assists.
 
Up Next
App State will keep on the street for its subsequent recreation, because it travels to Hanover, N.H., to tackle the Dartmouth Big Green on Sunday. It will mark the Mountaineers’ first recreation vs. an Ivy League college since March 8, 2010. Tipoff from Leede Arena is about for midday, and the sport shall be broadcast on ESPN+.