Sam Griesel scored 15 points as Nebraska sent Ohio State to its fifth straight loss with a 63-60 victory in Lincoln, Neb., on Wednesday.
Sean McNeil missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Buckeyes (10-8, 2-5 Big Ten) as they continue to lose close games. During the skid they have been within one possession in the final two minutes in each contest.
Keisei Tominaga added 11 points for the Cornhuskers (10-9, 3-5), who won for the first time in three games.
Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh led all scorers with 18 points and added 10 rebounds, but fouled out with 10 seconds to play. McNeil had 13 and Zed Key 11 points to go along with 10 boards.
Ohio State went 6:35 without making a field goal until Key’s layup with 2:20 to go cut the Nebraska lead to 55-52.
It was 59-55 when Griesel made two free throws with 43 seconds left for a 61-55 lead but Sensabaugh made a 3-pointer from the left corner with 35 seconds left to cut the deficit to three.
Tominaga made a free throw with 17 seconds left, but missed the second — his first failed attemot from the line in 24 tries this season — to make it 62-58. After McNeil’s two free throws with 12.7 seconds remaining, C.J. Wilcher made one of two foul shots for Nebraska’s 63-60 advantage with 10 seconds left.
Ohio State had won five in a row at Nebraska with two going to overtime and a third decided on last-second shot in regulation.
The Cornhuskers were without Juwan Gary for a second straight game because of a shoulder injury. The junior forward is fourth on the team in scoring (9.5 points per game) and second in rebounding (6.5). Griesel returned after missing the previous game against Purdue because of a hip injury.
There was nothing pretty about the Buckeyes’ 22-21 halftime lead with poor shooting from both teams. That Ohio State could be ahead while shooting 26.7 percent (8 of 30) would be surprising — except the Cornhuskers weren’t much better at 30 percent (9 of 30).
On Saturday, Ohio State hosts Iowa while Nebraska plays at Penn State.
–Field Level Media
