Notre Dame completes second half comeback to beat 90-85 on Ohio State Road

As he backed up, EJ Liddell’s face said it all. He probably won the game. With 50 seconds left, his step-back mid-range jumper gave Ohio State an 85-80 lead – Notre Dame suddenly screamed.

Junior guard Prentice Hubs and 22 seconds left to cut it into a one-point deficit over Liddell, put a point away from tying the Fighting Irish. But Justice Swing and CJ Walker’s free throw helped give Ohio a 90-85 victory.

The 22nd ranked bookies improved 4-0 and remained unbeaten. Notre Dame went down 1-2 during the season.

Liddell led his team with 19 points, scoring six of his final seven shots to help Ohio State close for victory. Justices Swing (16 points), CJ and Walker (16 points), Dwayne and Washington Washington Jr. (13 points) and Justin Ahrens (12 points) also finished in double figures.

For a few moments early in the second half, however, Ohio State appeared in danger of giving up all its slips.

B: Notre Dame took a 55-24 lead in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge on Tuesday evening with a 14:38 remaining 8-1 run by 3K-to-back 3-pointers, trailing the Buckeyes for the first time this season. But Ohio State began to chip away.

EJ Liddell layout. Justice Swing Pair Free Throw. Jimmy Sotos triple. After a few minutes of back-and-forth play, Ohio State finally had the first lead of the second half at 8:44 on a pair of CJ half tax free throws.

With the exception of a 23-second period, once the Buccaneers took the lead they either had an edge or were engaged with the rest of the game.

Excited by the shots other than shooting outside, Ohio State remained within sharp distance – and that too led to 1:47 in the first half. The Bookies made six triplets in the opening 14 minutes of the game. In that context, they played six games of the entire game against Illinois State, scored four 3s in 40 minutes against Morehead State and needed 35 minutes to make six 3s against Morehead State. Justin Ahrens made his first three shots from behind the arc to help his team spark.

Yet, as their 3-point shooting dried up, only half of their final five were cleared, the Fighting Irish grabbed the big leg of the lead. Notre Dame finished the half with an 8-0 run, including a one-on-one transition that immediately followed Dwayne and Washington Washington junior turnover when the junior guard tried unsuccessfully to get behind his back between the two players at the top of the arc.

Ohio State was scoreless in the final three minutes of the half and the deficit widened early in the second half before it closed in the second half.

Next: Ohio State will return to Scottstein Center to face Cleveland State on Sunday at 4 p.m.

Other notes

• Seth Towns (knees) was the only bookie unavailable on Tuesday night. Chris Holtman says he is evaluating when the Towns will enter on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis.

• He was Ohio State’s first high-profile opponent this season. It has three wins against lower-major teams – Illinois State, Yumas Lowell and Morehead State – and is currently on schedule against a low-major opponent before the final game.

• Ohio State entered the day against Notre Dame with an 8-5 all-time record, but it was the Buccaneers ’first game at the Purcell Sale Pavilion in 48 years.

• Bookies came into the day with a 7-11 record in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge, which he began participating in in 2002.

• While bookies do not allow spectators in their area, Notre Dame allows a limited number of family and friends to enter the building, so some parents of Ohio State players were in attendance. Holtman’s wife and daughter were also shown on television in the South Band.