Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine celebrated Feb. 14 in style, sinking a 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds remaining to give Michigan State a 59-56 victory over No. 23 Ohio State on Saturday.
”Give Valentine credit – that was an incredible shot,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. ”I thought we had them right where we wanted them in terms of how the action developed.”
Ohio State had one last chance to send the game to overtime, but lost the ball on the ensuing inbound pass.
The Buckeyes (19-7, 8-5 Big Ten) rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit, and Ohio State tied it on Sam Thompson’s 3-pointer with 36 seconds left. Michigan State (17-8, 8-4) ran the clock down, and Valentine’s shot from to the right of the top of the key gave the Spartans a huge boost in their effort to secure an NCAA tournament bid.
It was 33-24 at halftime. The Buckeyes began closing the gap in earnest toward the middle of the second half, tying it at 46 on a dunk by Thompson and taking a 49-47 lead on a jumper by Scott with 5:22 remaining.
Valentine finished with 17 points, going 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. Branden Dawson had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Michigan State.
Shannon Scott scored 15 points for the Buckeyes. Thompson, D’Angelo Russell and Jae’Sean Tate added 10 apiece.
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