When Zed Key’s first-ever college 3-point attempt went down just 55 seconds into Monday’s season opener, it seemed an obvious indication of the type of night in store for Robert Morris.
| Team | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 42 | 49 | 91 |
| ROBERT MORRIS | 28 | 25 | 5 |
Ohio State faced some resistance early against its Horizon League foe, but closed the door on the Colonials in the second half to begin the 2022-23 men’s basketball season with a blowout win at the Schottenstein Center. It was a 91-53 victory for the Buckeyes by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Returning to official game action for the first time since Nov. 12, 2021, Justice Sueing both started and showed out in scarlet and gray. The sixth-year forward poured in 12 points in the first half alone and led all Buckeyes with 20 points by game’s end.
Key added 13 points of his own and finished with 10 boards for a double-double as Ohio State separated from the Colonials late in the first half and continued to pull away from that point onward.
With the win, Chris Holtmann improved to 6-0 in season openers as head coach of the Buckeye program and started his sixth year on a positive note.
First Half
Key’s game-opening triple wasn’t the only one of the game for the third-year center. While Ohio State led the way early, Robert Morris returned fire to take its first lead of the game, 15-13, with two straight threes at the 11:40 mark. But Key knocked down his second long bomb of the half just 30 seconds later, giving Ohio State a lead that it wouldn’t squander after that.
Including that Key three, the Buckeyes outscored the Colonials 29-13 in the final 11 minutes and change and closed the half with a 6-0 run. Sean McNeil’s first field goal in a Buckeye uniform sent Ohio State to halftime up 42-28 as Robert Morris’s early vigor evaporated by the end of the period.
The Colonials missed their final five shot attempts of the half and hit just one of their last 10. Robert Morris didn’t hit any field goal in the final 4:14 of the first half and shot just 32.1% from the floor and 13.3% from 3-point range for the half as a whole.
Meanwhile, Ohio State connected on 51.6% of its shots and hit 53.8% of its 3-pointers before halftime. Key and Sueing combined to knock down four long-distance shots between the two of them with only two misfires.
The Buckeyes also outrebounded Robert Morris by seven and dished eight more assists than the Colonials through the first 20 minutes, which essentially decided the game’s result before intermission.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | ROBERT MORRIS |
|---|---|---|
| 91 | POINTS | 53 |
| 34-61 (55.7%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 20-63 (31.7%) |
| 10-21 (47.6%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 4-24 (16.7%) |
| 13-21 (61.9%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 9-17 (52.9%) |
| 14 | TURNOVERS | 11 |
| 48 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 27 |
| 14 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 13 |
| 34 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 14 |
| 40 | BENCH POINTS | 14 |
| 5 | BLOCKS | 1 |
| 6 | STEALS | 5 |
| 18 | ASSISTS | 6 |
Second Half
Ohio State started the second half as hot as it closed the first, hitting its first three shots en route to a 9-3 run that opened up a 20-point Buckeye lead at the 17:01 mark. Key had six of those points by himself while McNeil contributed another three.
Sueing kept his first-half momentum going midway through the final frame, knocking down back-to-back shots to give the Buckeyes a 27-point advantage following a steal and runout dunk with 8:44 to go. That transition bucket was part of an 11-2 run for Ohio State, which refused to let Robert Morris make things interesting down the stretch.
A little over a minute later, the Buckeyes increased their edge to 30 points as the Colonials couldn’t keep up with their counterpart in any phase.
By the end of the game, Brice Sensabaugh (17 points) and Tanner Holden (12) joined Sueing and Key in double-digit scoring figures off the bench as four Ohio State players scored at least 12 points on the night.
Game Notes
- After missing last week’s exhibition win with an ankle sprain, Justice Sueing made his first appearance for Ohio State since Nov. 12, 2021.
- Sueing started alongside Bruce Thornton, Isaac Likekele, Sean McNeil and Zed Key for the Buckeyes.
- Eugene Brown was the only Buckeye listed as unavailable for the season opener as he continues to go through concussion protocol.
- Ohio State last lost a season-opening game in 2003, when the Buckeyes started the season on the road at San Francisco.
- Third-year Robert Morris guard Josh Corbin is a Gahanna, Ohio, native and played high school basketball at Gahanna Lincoln.
- Ohio State entered as a 20.5-point favorite over the Colonials.
