Keita Bates-Diop scored 26 points, Marc Loving added 24 and Ohio State fended off a challenge from pesky Walsh in a 92-82 exhibition game Sunday at Value City Arena. With sophomore forward Jae’Sean Tate unavailable because of an ankle injury, coach Thad Matta started his three available returning lettermen along with two debutants: Loving, redshirt sophomores Trevor Thompson and Kam Williams, Bates-Diop and freshman JaQuan Lyle. >> Get the most out of your Ohio State experience, follow @BuckeyeXtra on Twitter Bates-Diop finished with eight rebounds and went 10 for 13 from the floor, including 4 for 5 from three-point range. Loving added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Lyle had 19 points and nine rebounds. Walsh’s Jesse Hardin Jr. led all scorers with 27 points and was 7 for 11 on 3-pointers. Hardin’s 3-pointer with 13:27 remaining tied the score at 57, but Loving immediately answered with a 3 of his own and Bates-Diop finished an assist from Daniel Giddens to push the lead back to five points. Walsh got no closer than three points the rest of the way, although the Cavaliers would do so three times. After the Buckeyes pushed an early lead to 17-6 on an Austin Grandstaff three-pointer 5:44 into the first half, Walsh put together a 10-0 run during the next two minutes as Ohio State missed three shots and committed two turnovers. The Cavaliers completed the comeback and briefly tied the score at 21 when Zac Carter hit a three-pointer with 8:22 remaining in the half, but a Loving jumper on Ohio State’s ensuing possession put the Buckeyes back ahead by two. The lead would stay in single digits until halftime, and when Ditalion Battle hit a three-pointer at the buzzer the Cavaliers left the court trailing 43-40 thanks primarily to their perimeter shooting. …
Continue Reading: Men’s basketball: Walsh hangs with Ohio State in exhibition
