JaQuan Lyle decided he had seen enough.
With Ohio State locked in an unexpectedly tight game against UNC Asheville on Thursday night, the score tied 69-all with just over two minutes remaining, the Buckeyes’ sophomore point guard decided he was just going to put his head down and attack the basket.
The result was Lyle scoring eight-straight points down the stretch to help Ohio State escape with a 79-77 victory over the visiting Bulldogs. It was Lyle's time to take over the game and he did not disappoint.
“We told him starting back Oct. 1 and tonight he finally did it so it was good to see,” Ohio State head coach Thad Matta joked afterward of Lyle’s late-game aggressiveness. “Those were some big shots. They really went small down the stretch there so getting inside the paint was a good thing for us.”
But while the win allows the Buckeyes to feel good for a night, there are still plenty of question marks surrounding this team heading into Big Ten play. Ohio State finished its non-conference schedule with a 10-3 record — with two of those losses coming against teams currently ranked in the top-15 of the AP poll — but it’s still hard to get a read on this team.
For whatever reason, Ohio State continues to play up — or down — to the level of its opponent. That’s not exactly a winning formula in the Big Ten.
To be clear, UNC Asheville is far from a slouch. The Bulldogs are the second-highest rated mid-major on Ohio State’s non-conference schedule, according to KenPom’s advanced statistical ratings, and they played quite well on Thursday night. UNC Asheville made 11 3-point field goals to the Buckeyes’ three, and that plus-24 mark from downtown is what kept the Bulldogs in the game all evening.
But Ohio State clearly has more talent and when the Buckeyes led by 10 points at 62-52 with 8:02 to play, this game should have been over. Ohio State had a chance to bury the visitors, but what happened almost immediately? A 9-0 by UNC Asheville to get within one point with 5:38 to go.
Moving forward, those types of things can’t happen — even if the end result Thursday night was a victory.
“Down the stretch, we’ve just got to work on handling adversity,” said junior forward Jae’Sean Tate, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds. “We’ve got to handle tough moments and just be mentally tougher.”
Because in Big Ten play, that’s what it’s going to come down to: Ohio State is going to be in plenty of tight games down the stretch in conference play. There aren't anymore UNC Ashevilles on the schedule.
The Buckeyes must learn from this, and figure out a way to fix a few things in a rather quick amount of time. Ohio State doesn't play again until New Year's Day when it opens Big Ten play at Illinois.
“I take a positive out of this because a couple weeks ago we played FAU and got up 11 and they just hit a run and they won the game,” Lyle said. “We got up 11 tonight and they made a run but we fought through that, fought through adversity and we got the win. I can take a positive out of that.”
The warm-up is over. It’s time to find out what type of team Ohio State has this season.
