Ohio State junior forward Zed Key (#23) grabs an offensive rebound and attempts to score during the game against Robert Morris on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. Key finished with a double-double on the night, scoring 13 points and securing 10 rebounds. Also pictured for the Buckeyes is Justice Sueing (#14). Pictured for the Colonials is Enoch Cheeks (#5) and Stephaun Walker (#11).
Tyler Flora | Record-Herald photo
The Ohio State men’s basketball team opened its 2022-23 campaign and 124th season overall at home on Monday against Robert Morris. Coming into the game, the Buckeyes were 4-0 all time against the Colonials.
Redshirt-senior forward Justice Sueing made his return to action after missing almost the entire 2021-22 season with an abdominal injury.
The game saw true freshmen Brice Sensabaugh, Roddy Gayle Jr., Felix Okpara, Colby Baumann and Bruce Thornton, as well as transfers Tanner Holden (Wright State), Sean McNeil (West Virginia), Owen Spencer (Citadel), and Isaac Likekele (Oklahoma State) see their first minutes as Buckeyes.
Ohio State led for most of the first half, with their largest lead being 14 points. The 14-point lead was the lead at the half as the Buckeyes were in control, 42-28.
The Buckeyes opened the second half on a 9-3 run to push the lead to 20 and then extended their lead even more throughout the second half, cruising to a 91-53 victory.
Junior forward Zed Key was able to get a double-double during the contest, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Statistically, Sueing led Ohio State, and all scorers, with 20 points. Sueing was followed by Sensabaugh with 17, Key with 13, Holden with 12, Likekele with nine, McNeil with six, Okpara with four, and Thornton with three.
Key led the Buckeyes with 10 rebounds, followed by Sensabaugh and Likekele with nine, Holden and Gayle Jr. with three, Thornton, Sueing, Okpara, and Kalen Etzler with two, and Baumann and Owen Spencer each had one.
Likekele led OSU with six assists, followed by Thornton with four, Gayle Jr. with three, McNeil and Sueing with two, and Sensabaugh with one.
As a team, The Buckeyes were 34-61 from the field, including 10-21 from beyond the arc and 13-21 from the free throw line. OSU dominated RMU on the boards as well, out-rebounding them by a 48-27 margin.
OSU head coach Chris Holtmann spoke about the victory after the game.
“This was a good opening night for us to be able to experience playing against a veteran group in Robert Morris. They’ve got a lot of returning guys. This was a good opportunity for us to go against a physical team that is well coached and just has some athleticism.”
Sueing spoke about what it meant to him to be able to finally play again after missing last season.
“It was really emotional. I talked to my pops before this and just talked about how God put me through these couple of hurdles that I had to deal with over this past year, And I think it built me to be stronger as a man and as a player.”
Ohio State (1-0) is back in action on Thursday at home against Charleston Southern. Robert Morris (0-1) looks to bounce back on Wednesday against Pitt-Greensburg.
