— By David Walsh
The first half went the way Ohio State fans probably expected. After 20 minutes, the Buckeyes, thanks to one 9-0 run, built the lead to 45-27 at halftime at Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
A different, more challenging Thundering Herd came out in the second half and made a game of it. A 14-0 burst saw Marshall cut the deficit to five (48-43) on a layup by Vasilije Kuridza with 15:21 left.
The Herd would get within single digits several more times, but the Buckeyes would find answers to stop the surges and escape with the win, 84-74, in front of 7,984 fans to improve to 2-1.
“The second half I thought we responded,” Herd coach Corny Jackson said on the post-game radio show. “We won the second half, 47-39. They were plus-20 in free throws. Maybe we have to make some adjustments there. I’m proud of the guys. They could’ve easily quit. We played a lot of guys and each one who came in gave us something. We’re not into moral victories. We came up short.”
After the Herd (1-2) got to within five, Ohio State went on a 7-0 run to make it 55-43. Marshall battled back on several occasions, but the Buckeyes countered to hold the visitors off.
The Herd’s Luke Rasmussen nailed a three to make it 65-58 with 9:10 to go. Justin Pippen countered with a three-point play for the 68-58 lead. Emmanuel Manyoun then got a basket for the Herd and Fazl Oshodi hit two free throws to make the deficit 68-62.
Again the Buckeyes would fend on the run and get the lead back to double digits. With 1:59 left, Bryce Slay made two free throws for Marshall to get within 77-70) Ohio State said enough with the runs and pulled away.
“The second half the offense was better,” Jackson said. “Credit Noah (Otshudi). He made some tough shots. We played Alex (Charlotin) a little more to relieve Noah. (Charlotin) was blowing by people to get some easy shots. Luke played with good energy. Glad to see him make some threes. We need him, we need all the guys. Our goal for the season was not to beat Ohio State. We want to compete Sun Belt Conference championship.”
Ohio State is a typical Big 10 team, yet the Herd and Buckeyes each finished with 34 rebounds.
Among rotation regulars for the Buckeyes, Amare Bynum is 6-foot-8, Andrija Jelavic 6-11, Anthony Thompson 6-9 and Josh Ojianwuna 6-10.
“They’re huge,” Jackson said. “One thing stands out. When you see it on tape you don’t realize it. When you get to the arena and see them in warmups, they look like an NBA team, a bunch of bigs. Again our guys fought. The focus was keep them off the boards and limit transition. I thought we did a pretty good job of that.”
Otshudi paced Marshall with 27 points and carried the team offensively for much of the matchup. He made 12-of-18 shots.
Slay contributed 15 before he fouled out. He played just 19 minutes.
John Mobley Jr. led the Buckeyes with 19 points. Jimmie Williams totaled 18, Jelavic and Thompson had 11 each and Bynum 10. The Buckeyes went 4-of-4 from the field in the late goings. They had a 36-26 edge in points in the paint and 15-5 margin on fast-break points. They went 25-of-35 at the line to 11-of-15 for the Herd.
Ohio State is 3-0 all-time vs. Marshall and 13-3 all-time against Sun Belt Conference teams.
Marshall returns to action Saturday at Youngstown State. Tip is 6 p.m. Ohio State beat the Penguins last week, 89-65.
“They’re young and talented,” Jackson said. They played Ohio State tough. We have to clean this up and prepare for Youngstown.”