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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State found its energy after a sluggish performance earlier in the week, and the Buckeyes needed every bit of it to beat Providence.JaQuan Lyle scored 20 points and JaeSean Tate added 14 as Ohio State held off the Friars 72-67 on Thursday night.Ohio State (3-0) looked sharper after barely surviving North Carolina Central earlier in the week and won this game despite the efforts of Rodney Bullock, who was 5 for 9 from beyond the 3-point line and scored 27 points for Providence (1-1).It just seemed like we had more flow to us, Ohio State coach Thad Matta said.Trevor Thompson added 12 points for the Buckeyes in their opener of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, an eight-game series featuring Big Ten teams against the Big East.Indiana transfer Emmitt Holt scored 11 for Providence, and Jalen Lindsey booked 10 as the Friars as a team shot just 34 percent from the floor. The Buckeyes made exactly half their shots.Providence, searching for an identity this season after the loss of its two best players to the NBA, couldnt overcome the Ohio State lead but was still in the game in the final few minutes.Bullock closed it to 50-49 at the 10-minute mark with a 3-pointer, but the Buckeyes went on a 9-0 run over the next 1:28 to lengthen the lead again. The Friars pulled within two at the 4-minute mark with an Isiah Jackson 3-pointer, but a series of fouls put Buckeyes at the line and allowed them to build the lead and hang onto it.We fought back a couple different times, Providence coach Ed Cooley said. I think we were down by double digits two different times and found a way to get back. We lost a lot last year, and to grind it out and make it a competitive game right down to the wire, Im really proud of our group.The Buckeyes led the cold-shooting Friars 38-28 at the half, highlighted by a 9-2 run that erased a 17-16 Providence lead, and punctuated with a Keita Bates-Diop dunk off a steal and a 3-pointer from Lyle. Thats the last time the Friars would lead.Ohio State dominated inside, scoring 42 in the paint against Providences 20.I thought we did a good job finishing down there, Matta said. Its been a little bit of a problematic area for us. Our guys did a good job of getting the ball where we wanted it.BIG PICTUREProvidence: The departures of superstar Kris Dunn and sophomore Ben Bentil to the NBA left Cooley without a proven, experienced player around which he could build this years team, although Bullock stepped up to carry the load Thursday. Some of his teammates are going to have to do more for the Friars to be successful.Ohio State: After struggling on Monday, Ohio State triumphed in their first true test of the season. The Buckeyes were able to hold off Providences scrappy second-half charges and keep the lead.We were up by 12 points at one point, but they went on a run, Lyle said. This team last year probably would have folded and end up losing the game. It shows our maturity and how much we have grown up. We will continue to build off this game.INJURY REPORTBates-Diop went down awkwardly with his leg bent behind him about six minutes into the second half. He stayed down awhile, but eventually was helped to his feet and walked to the locker room under his own power. Matta said Bates-Diop was day-to-day with an ankle injury.UP NEXT:Providence: Returns home to play Grambling State on Saturday.Ohio State: Plays Western Carolina at home Monday night. 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Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team.During Comilla Victorians five-wicket win against Khulna Titans, Mashrafe Mortaza took his best bowling figures in the BPL. With 12 wickets, this is his best BPL campaign, one better than his previous best in 2012.The performance comes at a time when he has been struggling with a hamstring injury that has forced him to bowl off a shorter run-up - down to 12 metres from the usual 21. Still, watching him bowl on Friday, it didnt seem like he had lost pace - he generally stays around the mid-130s. He regularly troubled the batsmen with seam movement. His body language and the way he executed suggested he was as comfortable with the short run-up as he seems with his regular run-up.That invited the question: would Mashrafe, with a similar approach in Tests, be an effective solution to Bangladeshs long-standing problem with their pace attack in the longest format? He hasnt played Test cricket since July 2009. In the time he has been away, Bangladesh have largely struggled to find control with the new ball, leaving their spinners to take control irrespective of conditions.The situation became dire in the Test series against England last month, when Shafiul Islam and Kamrul Islam Rabbi were used for just 31 overs in which they picked one wicket. Yes, the Tests were played on spinner-friendly pitches, but Bangladeshs lack of pace options was still obvious.Mashrafe will leave for Australia with a 22-member preliminary squad for a training camp next week. He is scheduled to lead the Bangladesh side for the three ODIs and three T20s in New Zealand from December 26, before the Test series begins on January 12.Though it seems an improbable selection at this stage, Mashrafe has little over a month to prepare for the New Zealand Tests. He has spent several months bowling off a short run-up, especially when he was going through long injury lay-offs, which means his tweaked approach may not entirely be alien to him.This is also not the first time that Mashrafe has bowled well off a short run-up in competitive cricket. He did it in last seasons BPL and the Dhaka Premier League, with some success. However, to have him in the Test squad will require him to be fitter and stronger. That Mashrafe is currently going through his longest injury-free spell since he made his international debut in 2001 is also an indication that this could be the right time to ponder over the Test idea, if he is keen. If the pitches in New Zealand continue to remain as grassy as it did against Pakistan recently, there is all the more logic to it.However, the hierarchy of Bangladesh cricket might needd a lot of convincing.dddddddddddd The selection committee, which includes head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, would also consider factors like his lack of first-class cricket (he hasnt played four-day cricket since January 2014). That proved to be an issue when Taskin Ahmed was discussed as a potential Test candidate against New Zealand. Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan would also be a key decision-maker in this situation.More importantly, when the idea was floated in front of Mashrafe himself, he did not seem to take it seriously. It is possible [to bowl with a short run-up] in Test matches, but one has to pick up wickets, Mashrafe told ESPNcricinfo, before breaking into an amused smile. He did say there was not too much of a difference though. I can bowl all day if I bowl off the short run-up. I also hear that I was bowling with the same pace, around 130kph. Swing can be controlled, but it is hard to hit the yorkers. You need the full momentum and speed for the yorker.Bowling the slower one is possible, but maybe not as effective as with the long run-up. What helps is that the other factors in my bowling remain the same, and these include shoulder and hand speed, and ability to seam or swing the ball. The running speed goes down but otherwise there arent many other changes.Rubel Hossain, who is among the standbys for Bangladeshs training camp in Australia, has been Bangladeshs best wicket-taker since Mashrafe stopped playing Tests. But his 29 wickets have come at an average of 79.58. Robiul Islam came close to being a long-term solution but it is said that the team management has long been unhappy with his fitness.Within the group selected to travel to Australia, Mustafizur Rahman is returning from a shoulder injury while Taskin is still considered a limited-overs prospect. Shafiul was rested after the first Test against England because of tiredness, while Mohammad Shahid, who impressed in Tests in 2015, recently hurt his right knee and a decision on whether he will undergo surgery will be made at the end of December. Ebadat Hossain will require a fitness test in the next few days.It leaves the selectors, who are scheduled to sit down to a meeting on December 4, with a few decisions to make regarding the pace attack. While the ODI attack will rely quite a bit on Mashrafe and Taskin, and Mustafizurs full recovery, the Test attack remains short of quality.So why not Mashrafe, even if he is off a shorter run-up? ' ' '