Tony Stockman scored 23 points, and teammate Terence Dials had 17 points and a team-high 10 rebounds to hold off a surging Texas Tech team in the second half to win 77-71. The game was played in front of a sparse crowd of 9,624 inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, Thursday night.

The Buckeyes scored the first six points of the game and took command early. Ohio State would claim their biggest lead of the game after Brandon Fuss-Cheatham connected on a three-pointer with just under four minutes remaining, making the score 37-24. The Buckeyes would head into intermission leading 41-33.

The Red Raiders would claw back into the game in the second half. Texas Tech would get their first lead of the game at 58-57 with eight minutes remaining when Drew Coffman connected from downtown.

But the Red Raiders would be held scoreless in the final three minutes and eight seconds of the game. With 2:52 left to play, Matt Sylvester would tip-in a missed shot by Stockman putting the Buckeyes ahead 73-71. Stockman would make all four of his foul shots in the final minute to wrap up the win.

Fuss-Cheatham finished with 12 points and five assists for the Buckeyes.

Texas Tech was led by freshman forward Martin Zeno who scored 20 points.

The game was originally scheduled on the Texas Tech campus, but Tech moved the game from their 15,000-seat United Spirit Arena in Lubbock to a larger venue. American Airlines Center is very similar to Value City Arena in terms of size and layout, and the fact that both facilities house basketball and hockey games. It is the home to the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars. It was more of a neutral site, and the low turnout for the game seemed to help the Buckeyes, as the won on the road for the first time this season.

The game featured a head coach who played at Ohio State, and had interest in coaching the Buckeyes when Jim O’Brien was fired. But athletic director Andy Geiger opted to hire Thad Matta instead of former Indiana coach Bob Knight. So far Matta has his Buckeyes cagers clicking on all cylinders, and if not for two second half meltdowns against Creighton and Clemson, OSU would be undefeated.

While the Buckeyes sport a strong starting five, it going to come down to the play of the reserves if Ohio State intends to compete for the Big Ten title.

Ohio State’s next game is Sunday when Morehead State travels up from eastern Kentucky to take on the Buckeyes. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.

Tags: Buckeye Basketball //