Ohio

Drastic 3-point shooting differences proving differences between Ohio State’s wins, losses

Published

2 years ago

January 17, 2024

Drastic 3-point shooting differences proving differences between Ohio State’s wins, losses

It took five and a half minutes for Ohio State to hoist its first 3-pointer inside the Crisler Center. On their first eight possessions against Michigan, the Buckeyes either got the ball into the paint, turned it over trying to do so or attempted a shot from somewhere near the basket while building a 10-7 lead.

Then with 14:30 to play, Bruce Thornton attempted his team’s first 3-pointer on Monday afternoon, and it bricked off the rim. On the next possession, Jamison Battle missed one from the right corner. And on the next, Battle hit the side of the backboard from the same spot.

It was a sign of what was to come. Continuing what has become a trend this season, an inability to make shots from 3-point range directly tied into another loss for the Buckeyes.

To borrow an old cliché, Ohio State’s shooting inside the Crisler Center matched the temperatures outside: frigid. The Buckeyes finished 3 for 25 (12.0%) from deep in a 73-65 loss to the Wolverines, marking a third straight game where they failed to make more than one-third of their 3-point attempts.

Not coincidentally, Ohio State has lost all three of those games. As the Buckeyes try to avoid letting this streak turn into what last year became, the need to at least shoot better – if not spectacularly well – from deep has to be atop the list of concerns.

“What we can do is really evaluate the quality of our looks,” coach Chris Holtmann said. “Then they’ve got to trust their stroke. That’s really what we’re trying to evaluate: what are the quality of our looks?”

For the most part, Ohio State would appear to be getting shots it wants by guys it wants taking them. When the Buckeyes went to Indiana’s Assembly Hall on Jan. 6, they were shooting 38.0% from 3-point range. Battle was leading the way at 44.7% (42 for 94) with Roddy Gayle Jr. next at 39.5% (17 for 43) and Thornton close behind at 37.3% (28 for 75).

Three games later, Ohio State’s season 3-point shooting percentage has dropped to 35.2%. The Buckeyes have collectively shot 22.9% (16 for 70) from deep in losses to Indiana, Wisconsin and now Michigan. Entering Tuesday’s games, the Hoosiers ranked ninth in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage defense (32.9%), the Wolverines 12th (33.9%) and the Badgers 13th (34.9%).

Ohio State Buckeyes: Poor shooting dooms Ohio State at Indiana: 5 takeaways from another road loss

Against those teams, Battle has shot 43.5% from 3 (10 for 23) despite missing seven of his eight attempts against Michigan. Thornton is 3 for 19 (15.8%). Gayle is 0 for 12.

When shots aren’t falling, “It’s hard (to win),” Thornton said after the Michigan loss. “I’m not going to lie to you. Even though I’m not shooting well at all, I’ve got to shoot it like I’m going to make the next one every single time. That’s my thought process.”

Ohio State’s shooting splits between wins and losses are significant. The Buckeyes are shooting 38.8% (104 for 268) from 3 in their 12 wins and 27.0% (31 for 115) in their five losses. Battle has 15 of those 31 makes. The Buckeyes are 4-4 when shooting 33.3% or worse from 3 and 8-1 when bettering that mark.

Ohio State Buckeyes: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman Adam Jardy

There’s a few things that could help with those numbers. Ohio State has not experienced as much success in transition as it hoped for this year, but those numbers have also dipped in losses. The Buckeyes average 6.9 fast-break points in their wins and 4.8 in their losses, but win or lose they’ve only gotten into double figures in one of their last 11 games. Ohio State has also gone away from posting up centers Felix Okpara and Zed Key with any regularity, instead relying on them to get their production from lobs or put-backs.

That has meant fewer kick-outs to open shooters for shots that are generally the highest percentage 3-point attempts.

“We’ve struggled in general getting some transition where we were getting that earlier in the season,” Holtmann said on Tuesday’s radio show. “We’ve got to be better at that and getting some buckets on the glass.”

It all fits together. A few more made 3s will open up the opportunities down low, which will give the Buckeyes better opportunities at the rim and, in turn, better 3-point looks. And maybe, eventually, it will lead to winning again.

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy

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Ohio

Some Ohio tick species carry potentially fatal diseases. What to know

Published

11 hours ago

May 24, 2026

Press Room

Some Ohio tick species carry potentially fatal diseases. What to know

Dave Golowenski
| Special to The Columbus Dispatch

Tick season has arrived in Ohio.
That means outdoors enthusiasts should take precautions.
That might be truer now more than ever.
Although many discuss global warming as the cause, researchers are suggesting that’s not the main driver.

Although they’re silent and among nature’s stealthiest stalkers, ticks now seem to be creating considerable public buzz.

Certain ticks can operate year-round. Nonetheless, interest heightens during spring when intersections increase between reactivated ticks, people and people’s pets.

What happens post-encounter depends on how long a person takes to find and disengage from a tick that has found them. Infection can occur after two-hour attachments. In short, hunters, anglers, hikers, noodlers, birders and anyone else wandering woods and fields, especially during May and June, demand speedy self-inspection and precautionary repellent use.

Lyme disease, a malady that can leave sufferers with chronic malfunctions, draws much attention because of its inexorable and fairly rapid spread from New England into seemingly virgin territory, including Ohio.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS: More about Ohio hunting and fishing

Specific tick species carry different maladies, though some deal out more than one.

Blacklegged ticks, aka deer ticks, are the primary spreaders of Lyme disease. The bite from a lone star tick, another relative newcomer to Ohio, can trigger several illnesses, the most trumpeted being a potential killer known as alpha-gal syndrome that makes the bitten allergic to red meat and dairy.

A few years ago, former Columbus Dispatch nature columnist Jim Fry lay on a hospital bed while paralysis crept up his legs to his arms and neck. Spreading immobility made him unable to lift his head.

“I was terrified,” said Fry, then 79.

Fortunately, a healthcare attendant noticed an engorged tick on Fry’s upper left arm. Removal of the tick veered Fry away from a proximate path to eternity, though full recovery took time.

The would-be assassin turned out to be a dog tick, historically common in Ohio. Also known as a wood tick, the relative of spiders and scorpions can carry in its saliva a neurotoxin that triggers what is known as tick paralysis in susceptible people, dogs and cats. Tick paralysis – rare enough not to ratchet up public awareness, let alone mania – can kill.

Climate change has been popularly depicted as the reason deer ticks and lone star ticks have spread from the South into New England and the Midwest. Climate probably has an influence, but it’s not the primary cause, concluded the Entomological Society of America with findings shared in the publication Entomology Today.

Researchers found it highly probable that tick species currently viewed as newcomers were here spreading their diabolical wares before a wave of settlers mowed down trees for agriculture and virtually wiped out the deer through hunting and habitat destruction.

Deer are not themselves vulnerable to Lyme disease, but they are spreaders of ticks.

It was especially extreme in Ohio around 1900. By that time, the landscape had been transformed from 95% forested to about 5%. Deer went absent. When much marginal farmland reverted to native trees during the next 100-plus years, it stimulated the growth of a teeming deer population.

More deer have allowed more tag-along ticks to reoccupy lost territory, the study hypothesized.

Parting shots

Pro bass fisherman Charlie Hartley, who led the 2008 Bassmaster Classic for a day and who earned a paycheck in 78 of 296 Bassmaster tournaments in which he competed, has been named to the Ohio Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. Hartley resides in Grove City. … Turkey season ends May 24 at sunset in central Ohio and May 31 at sunset in five northeastern counties. Through May 17, the turkey take exceeded the three-year average at a comparable date by about 550.

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Ohio

Glen Wenger, Columbiana, Ohio

Published

23 hours ago

May 23, 2026

Press Room

COLUMBIANA, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) – Glen Wenger, 83, formerly of Columbiana, Ohio, passed away at his home in Dublin, Ohio on May 20, 2026, after suffering from Parkinson’s disease and cardiac amyloidosis for many years. He was born February 9, 1943, the son of David and Letha (Brunk) Wenger.

He attended North Lima Schools up until his senior year, which he completed at Eastern
Mennonite High School in Harrisonburg, Virginia, graduating in 1961.

As a young adult, Glen spent two years in Nigeria with Mennonite Voluntary Service. He worked with a community development program, teaching boys in the village of Illah agricultural skills from which they could earn a living. Upon completion of that term, he returned home to Columbiana, where he was employed by Witmer’s Inc. In 1967, he married Ethel Baird. They would have celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary this August.

From 1980-82, Glen and his family served as Mennonite Mission representatives in Nairobi, Kenya, where he and Ethel were houseparents for boarding students at Rosslyn Academy. The trips Glen’s family took to game parks in Kenya were among his most treasured memories.

Upon returning to the US, Glen continued working at Witmer’s, Inc. until his retirement. During his time there, he worked in the parts and sales departments. For several years thereafter, Glen worked at McMaster Farms in Columbiana, thriving on the energy of the farm and finding great satisfaction in the growth and harvesting of various crops of produce. Glen was a dedicated, hard-working man. He was devoted to his family, church, and community. Always ready to help others, he served the Lord in numerous ways at Midway Mennonite Church, where he was a lifelong member. He was the groundskeeper at Midway for many years, as well as the cemetery sexton. He loved music, and contributed his rich bass in many special music groups, the Midway Church chorus, and in duets with Ethel.

Since moving to Dublin in 2019 to be closer to family, Glen enjoyed attending his granddaughter’s musical performances. Glen is survived by his wife, Ethel, son Mark (Candis) of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and daughter Amy (Jeff) Bixler, of Columbus, Ohio; his beloved grandchildren, Stella Bixler, Mira Bixler, Eve Wenger, Cameron Wenger, and foster granddaughter, Dani Naghshineh. Also surviving him are his siblings, Rachel (Joseph) Martin of Westwood, Massachusetts, Dale (Marian) Wenger of Columbiana, Ohio, and Alan (Marilyn) Wenger of Poland, Ohio, along with many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, son Eric, and sister Jean Wenger.
Glen will be greatly missed by all who knew him, and was dearly loved by his family and
friends.

Glen’s family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be given to Midway Mennonite
Church, Columbiana, Ohio or Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pennsylvania.

Arrangements have been handled by Shaw-Davis Funeral Home.

A service to honor his memory will be held at a later date at Midway Mennonite Church

A television tribute will air Monday, May 25 at the following approximate times: 6:47 a.m. on WYTV, 9:43 a.m. on WKBN, 10:58 a.m. on FOX and 8:12 p.m. on MyYTV. Video will be posted here the day of airing.

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Ohio

Want to pay Ohio BMV, courts with Bitcoin and other crypto? Now you can

Published

1 day ago

May 23, 2026

Press Room

Want to pay Ohio BMV, courts with Bitcoin and other crypto? Now you can

Months after authorizing crypto as a payment method, Ohio is rolling out more ways to pay certain state fees. The Ohio Treasurer’s Office announced a new digital wallet for residents to pay court fees, the BMV or other state agencies using cryptocurrency and other funds.

The Treasury on May 21 announced the launch of Buckeye Billfold, a digital wallet program that lets residents and businesses pay state agencies using credit cards, bank transfers or crypto, while still keeping cash and checks as options.

State officials say Ohio will be the first state to authorize and promote statewide use of digital asset payments. Digital wallets are apps that store your credit or debit card information, allowing you to pay using your phone or other devices. Any cryptocurrency used is automatically converted into U.S. dollars at the time of the transaction.

Here’s what to know about how Buckeye Billfold works and where you might see it used.

Ohio launches ‘Buckeye Billfold,’ adding crypto and digital wallet options for state payments

Buckeye Billfold expands how Ohioans can pay for certain state services, giving people more flexibility in how they handle government fees.

“Ohio is leading the way by embracing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency innovation,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said in a release, adding that the move is meant to modernize how people interact with state government.

According to the Treasurer’s Office, if you choose to pay with cryptocurrency, it won’t actually stay in crypto. The payment is instantly converted into U.S. dollars, so it processes like a typical transaction.

State leaders say the move could reduce processing costs and save time for both the government and users. The initiative also builds on earlier attempts to bring cryptocurrency payments into state government, this time with full legal approval and a vendor in place to handle transactions.

Which Ohio agencies currently accept digital wallet payments?

Not all state agencies accept digital wallet or cryptocurrency payments yet, and availability can vary by agency and service. Several Ohio state agencies now accept certain digital currencies for certain payments, but it depends on the agency, the service, and whether you are paying online or in person.

Examples of agencies and courts that currently accept some form of digital or electronic payments include:

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