Field Level Media
Dec 19, 2020
Eugene Brown III's 3-pointer with 5:34 remaining in the game broke a tie and he hit another 57 seconds later to extend the lead as 20th-ranked Ohio State got the better of UCLA late for a 77-70 nonconference men's basketball victory in the nightcap of the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday afternoon in Cleveland.
No. 22 North Carolina handled Kentucky 75-63 in the opener.
Seeking a sixth straight win after a season-opening loss to San Diego State, UCLA (5-2) led by as many as six points in the second half until Ohio State (6-1) forged the eighth and final tie of the game on a pair of free throws by Duane Washington Jr. with 6:02 to go.
After a Jalen Hill miss for the Bruins, Brown bombed in his consecutive 3-pointers, sandwiching a Chris Smith hoop and giving the Buckeyes a 69-65 lead.
UCLA got as close as two on a Hill dunk with 4:17 to play, but the Bruins were then held to just one point over the next 4:01 while Ohio State pulled away.
Washington led a balanced attack with 14 points for Ohio State, which was coming off its only loss of the season at Purdue.
Zed Key came off the bench for 11 points and a game-high-tying six rebounds for the Buckeyes, while C.J. Walker added 10 points, E.J. Liddell and Brown nine apiece and Musa Jallow eight.
All of Brown's points came on 3-pointers, helping Ohio State outscore UCLA 24-12 from beyond the arc.
Cody Riley totaled 15 points and Johnny Juzang 13 for UCLA, which was outshot 50.0 percent to 40.0 from the field.
Hill chipped in with 10 points for the Bruins, while Jules Bernard had eight and Jaime Jaquez Jr. seven.
Bernard and Jaquez shared game-high rebound honors with Ohio State's Key with six apiece.
Neither team led by more than six points in a tightly contested first half that featured five ties and four lead changes.
The Bruins' Luzang and Bernard shared scoring honors in the half with eight points apiece.
--Field Level Media