Mawot Mag hit a critical 3-pointer late in overtime as Rutgers held off Ohio State 68-64 in Big Ten play at Piscataway, N.J., on Sunday to send the Buckeyes to their fourth straight defeat.
The Scarlet Knights (13-5, 5-2 Big Ten) were up 62-61 when Mag hit the trey from the left corner with 38.8 seconds and the Buckeyes (10-7, 2-4) never recovered.
Mag made two free throws with 21.1 seconds remaining to make it 67-61.
Cam Spencer led Rutgers with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Mag added 15 points while Clifford Omoruyi had 14 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks.
Brice Sensabaugh came off the bench to produce 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Buckeyes while Sean McNeil and Zed Key each had 11 points.
The game was tight throughout. At one juncture of the second half, the teams exchanged the lead on eight straight possessions, a streak that ended when Spencer made of one of two free throws to tie the game at 53.
There were 12 ties and 22 lead changes in the game.
Omoruyi put Rutgers ahead 57-55 with an emphatic dunk off the lob from Paul Mulcahy with 1:55 left in regulation. Sensabaugh’s jumper tied it with 49 seconds remaining and he and Spencer had shots for the lead but missed to send the game to overtime.
Both teams showed their defensive abilities in the low-scoring first half with the Buckeyes leading 23-20 despite shooting just 25.8 percent (8 of 31) from the floor. Omoruyi had five of Rutgers’ seven blocks. Ohio State had more success from the outside, hitting 4 of 10 from 3-point range.
Ohio State opened the game missing its first seven shots while Rutgers went 0 for 6 until Caleb McConnell’s steal and layup accounted for the first points on the board four minutes into the contest.
Rutgers avenged a controversial 67-66 loss to the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 8 when Tanner Holden hit the winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Big Ten the next day said the shot should not have counted because Holden received a pass directly after he returned from being out of bounds.
— Field Level Media