COLUMBUS, OHIO – It was a heartbreaker for the Scarlet Knights in Columbus on Thursday night.
 
With RU up two points on the final possession, a game-winning three-pointer heave from Ohio State guard Tanner Holden went through the net as time expired for the Buckeyes to defeat the Scarlet Knights 67-66 at the Schottenstein Center.
 
After further review, photos and video show that the assist-man Bruce Thornton stepped out of bounds before delivering the ball to Holden. Holden was out of bounds before receiving the pass and was the first player on Ohio State to touch the ball. Holden failed to re-establish himself in bounds before receiving the pass from Thornton.
 
"It was a tough road game, and we were tough down the stretch," Pikiell said. "We were one play away and we got to give credit to (Chris) Holtmann. Ohio State's tough and physical. I thought we played well. I thought we made plays down the stretch. I thought that we executed when we needed to. We didn't get that last stop. I thought (the shooter) kind of went out of bounds. I'm not sure. But they hit a huge three and won the game." Center Clifford Omoruyi blocked a shot attempt from Buckeyes' forward Brice Sensabaugh with nine seconds remaining and RU up one point.

After being intentionally fouled by Ohio State, Mulcahy made a pair of free throws to push the score to 65-62 with 5.8 seconds remaining. RU opted to intentionally foul Ohio State on the next possession, forcing Thornton to the free throw line for what would be two converted free throws.

On RU's final possession grad forward Caleb McConnell was sent to the free throw line. After shooting 10-10 from the line to start the season, McConnell missed on the second of two free throws, setting up a defensive rebound for Ohio State and the final play of the game.

"My team, they fight, and I am proud of them," Pikiell said. "We've won games like this, but just a tough way to lose. It's life here in the Big 10 (Conference). I have to give them credit. They made one more play, but I'm not sure about the sideline thing. I thought he was clearly out, but again, I didn't see anything."

Omoruyi led the way for Rutgers with 14 of his team-high 16 points coming in the second half. "Big Cliff" was (7-10) from the field, with eight boards and a pair of blocked shots.

Spencer made his first four shots in the first half and finished with 11 points, five assists and two steals.

"Cam is really good at making plays," Pikiell said. "He's a good player. Paul (Mulcahy), having him back, changes a lot of things for us and moves Cam to another spot where he's able to do some more things. I really thought we executed down the stretch, and we made big baskets. We are just disappointed for our guys. This is a tough place to play here and to have a chance to win it was just very difficult."

Senior forward Aundre Hyatt had 13 points on (6-12) from the field, two boards and one assist. Mulcahy had nine points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists coming off the bench for the second-straight game since returning from a shoulder injury.
McConnell, who went to high school in Geneva, Ohio had five points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Freshman guard Derek Simpson had four points, all coming in the second half in key moments of the game.

"Caleb's the best and we've been here before," Pikiell said. "These kids are tough and resilient. Caleb's a terrific player. To think six weeks ago, he wasn't practicing, but these kids are tough. We'll bounce back. We got a lot more season to go and hopefully we'll get one of these back."
 
The Buckeyes were led by forward Zed Key, who scored a game-high 22 points on (9-12) shooting. RU held Key to seven points in the second half after Key was dominant in the first.

"He's good and he's the leading offensive rebounder in our league and he really got on the glass," Pikiell said. "I thought our turnovers in the first half really hurt us and helped them. We just did a better job with our physicality (in the second half). We did a better job of blocking out. We did a better job down the stretch of taking him off the glass and keeping them out of those comfortable positions that he likes on the court. He's good and you can only contain him for so long."

Sensabaugh scored 13 points, with two assists and one steal. Thornton had ten points, five assists and a pair of steals. Forward Justice Sueing had nine points, three assists and two steals. Guard Sean McNeil had seven points and two assists.

Rutgers shot 51.9 percent from the field (28-54) and had 14 team assists. The Scarlet Knights overcame an 11-point Buckeyes lead with 4:06 remaining in the first half after finishing that period on a 9-0 run. There were 12 lead changes, and the score was tied 12 times on Thursday night.

Rutgers had 38 points in the paint compared to OSU's 28. RU had 18 points off the bench compared to the Buckeye's six.

Rutgers is now 6-3 overall, 1-1 in the Big Ten. Up next, RU will host Seton Hall on Sunday at Jersey Mike's Arena at 6:30 p.m.

"We have got a quick turnaround here for our next game," Pikiell said. "Our guys really do a good job learning from film, so we'll try to take what we can out of it and do a better job down the stretch."