Ohio St. Buckeyes vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Match Player Stats On Jan 09, 2019

Montez Mathis scored 16 points and hit a pair of crucial late baskets, leading Rutgers to a 64-61 upset of No. 16 Ohio State on Wednesday in Piscataway, N.J.

Mathis made a layup with 1:48 to go to cut the Buckeyes' lead to one, then gave Rutgers (8-6, 1-3 Big Ten) a 62-61 lead with 1:07 left by hitting another layup. Geo Baker added a jumper with 13 seconds to play to make it 64-61.

Ohio State's C.J. Jackson missed a 3-point attempt from the left corner with two seconds left.

The Buckeyes (12-3, 2-2) lost their second game in a row.

Baker had 15 points, Ron Harper Jr. scored 12 and Shaq Carter contributed 11 for the Scarlet Knights.

Kaleb Wesson produced 16 of his 18 points in the second half for the Buckeyes. Ohio State also got 13 points from Luther Muhammad and 10 from Jackson.

The Scarlet Knights lost leading scorer Eugene Omoruyi at the 12:58 of the first half when he appeared to sprain his left ankle going for a rebound.

He had to be helped off the court but returned to the bench a few moments later to watch the remainder of the game. The junior averages 15.7 points and eight rebounds per game.

Wesson had only two points in the first half because of foul trouble -- he had two fouls in the first three minutes -- but scored the Buckeyes' first 10 points after the break for a 40-38 lead. However, Rutgers scored the next 10 for a 48-40 advantage.

The Buckeyes finally got the lead, 59-58, on a Muhammad bank shot with 3:07 left. Jackson followed with a bucket to put Ohio State up 61-58 with 2:35 to go, capping a 7-0 stretch before Mathis took over.

Ohio State was fortunate to be trailing just 31-30 at halftime after being down 30-19 with under five minutes left before the break.

The Scarlet Knights then missed their final seven shots and were outscored 11-1, going scoreless the final two minutes prior to halftime.

Duane Washington Jr. had five points during the run, including a jumper with six seconds left pull the Buckeyes to within one.

On Saturday, Ohio State plays at Iowa and Rutgers goes to Minnesota.

--Field Level Media