Career-high 33 points for Sueing as Ohio State downs Texas Tech 80-73 in Maui

Ohio State forward Justice Sueing returned to his home state of Hawaii and had – at least up until now – the best game of his college basketball career on Wednesday.

Sueing, playing his “super senior” season for the Buckeyes, poured in 33 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists as Ohio State knocked off No. 21 Texas Tech 80-73 in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational. It was played Wednesday afternoon at the Lahaina Civic Center.

The win capped a 2-1 showing for the Buckeyes (5-1 overall) in Hawaii after they dropped their opener there to San Diego State 88-77 Monday and throttled in-state rival Cincinnati 81-53 on Tuesday.

Sueing was a mainstay for the Buckeyes in the 2020-21 season but missed all of two games last season due to an abdominal injury. He used the extra year of eligibility afforded him because of the Covid season to come back this year. He had 20 points in OSU’s season opener against Robert Morris, but had struggled in the four games since then.

“I’m going to get emotional,” OSU coach Chris Holtmann said. “Because I know what that kid has been through. He’s been through a heck of a lot. He really struggled the first night here and the first couple of games here in front of his family. But when you see a kid with a season-ending injury who has a lot of promise … you want the best for him. Today was a pretty good way of ending his trip here.”

Sueing had 23 of his points in the second half as the Buckeyes held off every charge from the Red Raiders (4-2). Sueing scored 15 straight points for the Buckeyes from the midway point of the second half until a pair of his teammates, Sean McNeil and Zed Key, made free throws in the final minute to help put it away.

“I have been working, just trying to get back into the flow of things,” Sueing admitted. “My teammates continue to give me support and the coaching staff continues to give me support. I’ve continued to believe in God and his path for me. It was a big game and we had to come in and be ready for them. I’m really proud of this team, especially being so young. It is a great feeling.”

Sueing ended up 12 of 19 from the floor, 1 of 5 on threes and 8 of 8 at the foul line. He went baseline for an emphatic two-handed slam in the first half to almost announce he was back to full health.

“It definitely set a tone for us,” Sueing said. “We wanted to come into this game and be aggressive, knowing Texas Tech is a defensive-minded team. We wanted to be aggressive and not let them dictate how we would play. Opening up with that baseline dunk was key in getting off to a good start.”

Holtmann added, “We need that play from him. We need that consistency from him. I thought he competed on the defensive end against a good player in (Tech’s Kevin) Obanor. We needed his physicality, his length and his size. We kept…