Buckeyes Grind Out 67-60 Win over UCLA

Saturday, December 16

Atlanta, Ga.

3:00 PM

Ohio State

9-2,1-1Big Ten

UCLA

5-4,0-0Pac-12

UCLA

Ohio St.

Buckeyes Grind Out 67-60 Win over UCLA

12/16/2023 6:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ATLANTA, Ga. – In a game befitting of two top defenses, Ohio State got gutty performances from sophomores Roddy Gayle Jr. and Bruce Thornton to knock-off UCLA 67-60 on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

Ohio State is now 5-4 all-time in the CBS Sports Classic and improves to 9-2 on the season.

Gayle Jr. finished with a game-high 19 points and the Fairburn, Ga., native Thornton had 13 points, a career-high seven rebounds and a game-high four assists.

Jamison Battle made the Buckeyes' lone three-pointer of the game, and it came at just the right time. Leading 59-56 with under a minute to play, Battle canned a long three-pointer from the top of the key to shove the lead to six. He finished with 14 points.

Felix Opara had 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Zed Key posted three points and three rebounds.

UCLA came into the game with No. 3 defense in the country according the KenPom. The Buckeyes had the 18^th-ranked offense and had scored 80 or more points in six consecutive games before Saturday.

Neither team shot the ball well in the opening half. The Buckeyes had missed 11-of-12 shots at one point, but UCLA missed 10-of-12 in the same stretch. Gayle Jr. led the Buckeyes with eight first half points and Okpara had six. The Bruins would hold a slim 23-22 edge after the first 20 minutes.

Battle and Thornton's seven points apiece in the second half saw the Buckeyes take a 48-47 by the under eight timeout in the second half. The lead had already changed hands 18 times with both teams combining 1-for-20 from three-point land.

The Buckeyes would get big plays from Thornton and Okpara, including an alley-oop slam, down the stretch to close out the game 67-60.

Ohio State returns home next week to host New Orleans on Thursday evening, Dec. 21. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed exclusively on B1G+.

Felix Okpara extended his consecutive games streak with a block to 19 games. Since 2000, just Ken Johnson and Greg Oden have had longer streaks.
Thornton pulled down a career-high seven rebounds to go along with 13 points and a game-high four assists.
Gayle Jr. tied his career-high by going 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
Since the start of the 1998-99 season, no Ohio State game had fewer than three combined three-pointers made until tonight's two combined three-pointers.
With the win, Ohio State has now won all three of its neutral site games this season with one more remaining in two against West Virginia. That game will be played at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
Ohio State is 5-4 in the CBS Sports Classic and 3-1 against UCLA
The Buckeyes are 7-6 all-time against UCLA
Ohio State is now 6-4 all-time in games in Atlanta. They are 3-2 in five games against Georgia Tech and split a pair of NCAA Tournament games in 1987 at The Omni and in 2007 in the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.