LEXINGTON — Ohio State basketball fans, disheartened by the current state of affairs that led to Chris Holtmann’s firing, can take heart.
Help is on the way.
Buckeye recruit and Mr. Basketball candidate Colin White scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second half as Ottawa-Glandorf knocked off second-ranked Lexington 58-54 in a non-conference clash on Saturday night.
A 6-foot-5 swingman, White connected on 8-of-10 field goals after the break as the Titans (18-3) held Lex (20-2) at bay.
The Minutemen led only briefly in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 12 points in the fourth period before making things interesting in the closing minutes.
“He’s a special player. There’s no doubt,” Lexington coach Scott Hamilton said of White. “That’s why he’s going to Ohio State.
“I thought we did a decent job on him … but he’s a tough matchup for anybody.”
The Titans led 30-21 at the half before White began to exert himself. He scored 12 of O-G’s 17 points in the third quarter on an array of mid-range jumpers and daring drives to the basket.
“At halftime we talked about getting to the bucket,” said White, who helped the Titans reach the state championship game the last two years in a row.
“I think I’m pretty good at keeping my balance and finishing through contact. My shot wasn’t falling tonight, but that’s no big deal. I wanted to get to the rim and make the right play.”
Highlight Reel
The Titans opened a 50-38 bulge early in the fourth quarter on Grady Toumazos 3-pointer, but Lex refused to go quietly.
A conventional three-point play by Joe Caudill followed by a steal and run-out layup by Seven Allen’s trey cut O-G’s lead to 55-51 with 1:27 remaining. Caden Erford split a pair of free throws with 1:01 left to give the Titans a 56-51 lead, and split two more freebies with 39 seconds remaining to push the advantage to 57-51.
Lex’s Gavin Husty hit a 3-pointer with 31 seconds showing to cut the lead to 57-54, but Grant Schroeder split a pair two free throws with 17.1 seconds left to give O-G a 58-54 lead. Lex had a couple of good looks at the basket in the closing seconds but couldn’t get anything to fall.
“It’s good for us to play a game like this in a hostile environment,” White said. “We haven’t won a ton of huge games on the road, so this was a big one on the road.”
Ottawa-Glandorf coach Tyson McGlaughlin agreed.
“I think if you ask both coaches, you’d get a similar response. This is what it’s about,” McGlaughlin said. “It’s a tournament atmosphere. For us, being on the road, that’s even better. It tests the mettle of our team. I thought our guys were pretty resilient.
“We’re lucky to get out of here with a win.”
Erford backed White with 19 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the floor. Schroeder added five.
Allen led Lex with 15 points. Brayden Fogle had 13 while Elijah Hudson added 10 and Caudill chipped in with nine.