Sean McNeil had a question for Isaac Likekele before Wednesday night’s matchup with Maryland.
“Have you ever lost on Senior Night?”
“No,” Likekele replied.
Neither had McNeil.
Both Buckeyes came out red-hot to ensure that streak remained intact in their final game at the Schottenstein Center, and with the help of Justice Sueing – who led Ohio State with 16 points on the night – the three seniors who were honored before the contest wound up being the story of the game as they willed the Buckeyes to a 73-62 victory. That trio finished with a combined 37 points for Ohio State, and McNeil and Likekele scored 19 on a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor in the first half alone.
“Me and (Likekele) talked about it a little bit and then this is the last one here,” McNeil said. “So we kind of came out with a different look in our eye, for sure. We wanted this one bad.”
Ohio State’s veteran leaders haven’t always led the way for the Buckeyes this season. During their nine-game losing streak from the end of January through nearly all of February, all of the Buckeyes’ seniors dealt with struggles and inconsistencies. But not on Wednesday.
Although all three transferred into the program, Sueing, Likekele and McNeil wanted to make sure they went out on a win in their last collegiate game in front of a home crowd – a game in which each of them was granted a spot in the starting lineup.
“This was a great win here for really our seniors. I thought they had a look in their eye that was tremendous and they played with great competitiveness the whole game,” Chris Holtmann said afterward. “I thought Isaac set the tone with his defense, Justice was phenomenal all game and Sean was terrific early in his shot-making. So it's a really good Maryland team and I thought we were able to just kind of keep them at distance. But it's a really good team. A lot of respect for them.”
Sueing wasn’t as accustomed to Senior Night victories. In fact, Ohio State had lost its last two before Wednesday, and California went 1-1 in the first two home finales he played in to start his career. For that reason, he too had extra motivation to turn in a standout performance in aid of a Buckeye victory.
He did exactly that against the Terrapins, scoring 13 points in the second half alone and knocking down all eight of his free-throw attempts for the game. Sueing hit the late dagger to all but secure an Ohio State win as he nailed a 3-pointer from the wing to put the Buckeyes ahead by 15 points with 3:13 remaining.
.@JusticeSueing showed out in front of the family pic.twitter.com/t3JB3u5eGa
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 2, 2023
A Hawaii native, Sueing’s family provided all three Buckeye seniors with ceremonial leis before the game, and all three wore them proudly during their joint interview session afterward.
“Actually the past couple of senior nights, I think we lost, actually. So getting this was really important,” Sueing said. “I wanted to be able to leave the Schott and the fans on a good note and keep our momentum going into the next game and then into the (Big Ten) tournament. I'm really proud of the guys. We've had some rough stretches but more importantly, we've stayed together. Been able to build on our work ethic and just our mentality going forward and we were able to get a couple of dubs and now we're gonna keep pushing forward.”
Holtmann would’ve wanted a win just as bad in any other circumstance. But he was particularly hoping for a special moment for Sueing, who has spent four years in the Buckeye program.
He got one.
Senior Night at the Schott: pic.twitter.com/SJKnJuuDu2
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) March 1, 2023
“I just thought they had a really good approach. Obviously, for the last maybe week-and-a-half, two weeks, I do feel like we've played better. So maybe across the board our confidence is higher as a group,” Holtmann said. “But I just thought they had a look in their eye tonight. And I felt like obviously, we've lost on Senior Day before. We lost last year on Senior Day. The emotions can get the best of you. … We have a guy like Justice who's been here for several years, and we wanted him to really go out on a great note. As well as those other guys, but obviously a guy who's been here this long, you wanted to go out on a win. And he did a great job.”
Holtmann acknowledged the up-and-down nature of Sueing’s season, but said the whole team has had ebbs and flows throughout a disappointing campaign. Having now scored 30 points in the past two games, though, it appears Sueing has turned a corner late in the season.
“I'm just really happy for him. He's had his struggles. We've all had our struggles,” Holtmann said. “And for the last good bit here, I didn't think he played great in the Purdue game, but after that, I think he's played pretty well. And he just has a good way about him right now.”
With 11 points in 23 minutes of action, Likekele had his second-best scoring performance in a Buckeye uniform. He scored nine in the first 20 minutes, didn’t miss a shot all night and also dished four assists.
In an appearance on 97.1 The Fan on Monday, Holtmann implored the Oklahoma State transfer to be more aggressive on offense. After all, Likekele didn’t even attempt a shot in Sunday’s win over Illinois. On Wednesday, though, Likekele obliged his head coach.
“What he's been able to do when he's played well is getting easy buckets in transition, because his speed and his pace and playing downhill at his size is really good,” Holtmann said. “And his post-ups are good. He can see things. He's almost too willing of a passer, he's got to probably look to score a little bit more. But yeah, I think he's been really good. And then I thought his point of attack defensively was so good, because we had a really hard time guarding their point guard last game. He had five offensive rebounds, he got in the lane whenever he wanted to at their place. And I thought he was able to set a tone physically against him.”
Singing! pic.twitter.com/reDV9z6xSc
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 2, 2023
McNeil didn’t score in the second half, but he didn’t have to. He was an early spark plug as the Buckeyes mounted a double-digit lead just five minutes into the game, and led all scorers with 10 points before halftime.
Asked if there was one moment that stood out among the rest in his final home game as a college basketball player, McNeil’s response succinctly summed up the night, and the collective effort Ohio State displayed in its second straight victory.
“Winning. That's really what it's about,” McNeil said. “We got a win, that's what's important. All three of us had pretty good games, I would say, as far as Senior Night goes. I think it was good for us to play the way we did on this night. At the end of the day, it's really just another game. But on this night, it was good for these two guys next to me to play the way we all played. But at the end of the day, we got the win.”
