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Ohio State survives upset bid of Akron with game-winner by Zed Key

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Ohio State began Tuesday’s season opener with a strong first half.

Star forward E.J. Liddell was the main reason for that, doing a bit of everything with a dominant first half. He wound up with 13 points and an emphatic dunk to stake the Buckeyes to a 36-28 halftime lead.

Unfortunately, the lead was not meant to last. Akron stormed back to tie and then take the lead in the second half. The Zips even led at 62-59 with 3 minutes left in the game.

That is when the Buckeyes came back alive, rattling off 6-unanswered points with 4 of those coming from Zed Key. It gave Ohio State a 65-62 lead with 20 seconds left in regulation.

Chris Holtmann’s squad tried to secure the win on the defensive end, but then disaster struck. Ali Ali nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game and Liddell was called for foul No. 5 on the shot. Ali hit the free throw for the 66-65 lead.

Remarkably, Ohio State was able to set up an out-of-bounds play from there that led to a bucket down low for Key. It was enough for the Buckeyes to hold on for the 67-66 lead as Akron’s desperation heave was no good.

Liddell powered the team with a double-double at 25 points and 11 rebounds on 10-for-19 shooting. Key finished with 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting and was incredibly clutch down the stretch.

After surviving the scare, No. 17 Ohio State moves on to face Niagra on Friday night.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.