Michigan State survives second-half scare en route to 69-62 win vs. Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Just 1:44 into the second half of Friday night’s game against the Michigan State men’s basketball team, Ohio State coach Jake Diebler needed a reset.

Those 104 seconds flew by in a flurry. A flash of black and green there, a dunk, the groan of the crowd. All of a sudden, the 18th-ranked Spartans’ big men had taken over. All six points belonged to center Szymon Zapala, aided by three offensive rebounds from power forward Jaxon Kohler. The Buckeyes trailed by double digits for the first time all night.

It wasn’t the first time those two took over inside Value City Arena, and it wouldn’t be the last. Michigan State (12-2, 3-0 Big Ten) rode a strong night inside the paint to a 69-62 win over Ohio State. The Buckeyes had little answer for the Spartans’ towering paint presence, whether with timeouts or personnel. And despite a surge by Ohio State (9-5, 1-2) midway through the second half, Michigan State hung on for its seventh straight win.

By the end of the game, Zapala finished with 15 points to lead the Spartans. Kohler scored eight points and hauled in 10 rebounds.

Kohler got the Spartans going right out of the gate. After turning over his first touch of the day, he scored the first six points for Michigan State, doing as much damage on the glass, too. He strained for baskets under heavy contact inside the paint, but Ohio State’s personnel didn’t have the size to truly contain him.

Eventually, Kohler cooled, and so did his teammates. The Buckeyes began to climb back with an eight-point run, the energy inside Value City Arena growing with each bucket before exploding with a Bruce Thornton layup off a turnover. The Spartans found a way to stem this momentum change, as guard Jaden Akins nailed a stepback 3 to cut the deficit to 13-12.

That 3 was one of just two first-half makes from behind the arc, with Michigan State’s other make coming from guard Jeremy Fears Jr. But while 3s weren’t falling with much regularity, they didn’t really need to. The Spartans had all the space they needed in the paint, as Kohler and Zapala attacked the paint. They combined for 15 points in the first half, while their team totaled 20 in the paint.

All the while, Ohio State struggled to hit shots, with star point guard Thornton going 1 for 4 in the opening frame. A trio of Fears, Akins and guard Tre Holloman did the majority of work on Thornton, but forward Frankie Fidler also chipped in for a long stretch of minutes at guard, a trend in the past month.

Michigan State’s offense struggled to keep pace with its defensive success, and this led to a messy stretch in the final eight minutes in which the Buckeyes hauled in four offensive rebounds. Combined with a few turnovers, this gave Ohio State a number of shots. But its stagnant offense didn’t wake up, and the Spartans’ defense maintained a 31-27 lead heading into halftime.

And it took all of that 1:44 for Kohler and Zapala to stretch that lead. Because just like in the first half, Kohler and Zapala took over. A put-back and two dunks by Zapala ballooned the Spartans’ lead to 43-29, aided by a surge of three offensive rebounds by Kohler.

It took until 7:31 into the second half before Ohio State drew back within single digits, using three Thornton free throws to bring life back into the crowd. On the ensuing possession, Zapala missed a dunk that drew out even more cheering. Then a bad pass to Zapala gave forward Sean Stewart a steal and a fast-break dunk. All of a sudden, a comfortable lead had fallen to within couple shots, 47-43. And most importantly, Ohio State had found a way to take those pesky big men out of the equation.

The under-12 timeout gave Michigan State a well-timed opportunity recalibrate, but the issues kept getting worse. The Spartans gave up a flurry of offensive rebounds inside their own paint, and Ohio State capitalized with a second-chance 3 from guard John Mobley Jr. On its own responses, Michigan State turned away from its big men and to the 3-pointer, but the clang of an unfriendly rim wasn’t the sound the Spartans wanted to hear. Neither was that of the crowd, energized by offensive rebounds and turnovers that Ohio State rode to its first lead since the first half.

Struggling from its own pitfalls, Michigan State found a way to regroup. After the under-eight timeout, a 3 from Holloman and two buckets from Xavier Booker brought Michigan State all the way up to a seven-point lead. Diebler called timeout again, this time worrying about a different big man beating his team.

Out of the break, two jumpers from guard Micah Parrish brought the Buckeyes closer, but the Spartans weathered the storm.

With 1:36 left in the game, Michigan State held a four-point lead as Fears let go a shot. But as had happened so many times this game, Kohler's hands clasped around the rebound and kept control in the hands of his Spartans. Drawing a foul, Kohler hit two clutch free throws to stretch the lead. Though Ohio State made the end-of-game close with a 3 from Mobley, Michigan State held on for the win as Kohler mopped up his 10th rebound.

The Spartans have won seven straight and are a perfect 3-0 in Big Ten play. A hostile road game and a strong opponent were big tests, and Michigan State passed thanks to its big men.