Ohio St. Buckeyes vs Kentucky Wildcats Match Player Stats On Dec 21, 2019

Freshman D.J. Carton had 15 points and Kaleb Wesson had 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out late as No. 5 Ohio State defeated No. 6 Kentucky 71-65 at T-Mobile Arena in the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The Buckeyes (11-1) also got 10 points from Kyle Young.

Nate Sestina led the Wildcats (8-3) with 17 points. Tyrese Maxey had 15 points, and Ashton Hagans added 14 to go with nine assists.

Ohio State shot 50 percent (22 of 44) and had a 33-25 rebounding edge. Carton made 5 of 6 shots from the field and all four of his free-throw attempts.

The Buckeyes were up 62-56 when Wesson fouled out with 3:30 to play. With the score 62-57, Carton made a jumper for a 64-57 lead with 1:17 left.

EJ Montgomery's bucket cut the deficit to 64-59 with 57 seconds remaining before CJ Walker hit a 3-pointer for a 67-59 advantage with 28 seconds left to ice the win.

OSU took a 51-44 lead with 10:47 left on two free throws by Wesson. After a free throw by Hagans, Maxey made a 3-pointer to make it 51-48. It was the first trey in 10 tries by a Kentucky player other than Sestina, who was 5 for 8 at that point.

The Buckeyes led 37-36 at the half with neither team able to build more than a four-point lead. The score was tied five times and there were five lead changes in the half.

Each team wanted to end a rough week on a good note. The Wildcats lost to Utah 69-66 on the same court on Wednesday. The Buckeyes were beaten for the first time on Sunday, 84-71 at Minnesota, before defeating Southeast Missouri State 80-48 on Tuesday.

The Wildcats host Louisville on Dec. 28. Ohio State next plays No. 25 West Virginia in Cleveland on Dec. 29.

--Field Level Media