Despite several tense moments in a foul-filled second half, the second-seeded Buckeyes (22-13) defeated third-seeded Virginia Tech (19-15) in the second round of the NIT on Saturday. ) defeated 81-73. The season will be extended by one more game.
|
team |
1 |
2 |
Last |
|---|---|---|---|
|
#3 Virginia Tech |
26 |
47 |
73 |
| 2nd place Ohio | 36 | 45 | 81 |
Jamison Battle led Ohio State with 21 points, 17 of which came at the free throw line. He had a team-high 10 rebounds.
Felix Okpara followed with 13 points, adding six boards and two blocks. Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gale Jr. also scored in double figures, scoring 12 points and 11 points. Thornton, who returned from a sprained ankle in Tuesday's game against Cornell University, had a team-high seven assists.
Dale Bonner led the Buckeyes to a total of five double-digit scorers and had 12 points himself.
Guards Hunter Cattore and Sean Pedulla each scored 18 points for Virginia Tech in the loss.
first half
Similar to the NIT's first-round game against Cornell, Ohio State's offense came out at a snail's pace against Virginia Tech.
The Hokies started the game on a 7-0 run, and it took 3 minutes, 49 seconds for the Buckeyes to score their first point on a Roddy Gale Jr. 3-pointer. A follow-up triple on the next possession cut the lead to 7-6. .
Still, Ohio State made a 3-of-14 start from the field, allowing the Hokies to level the lead at 12-6. But then it was Virginia Tech who went scoreless for nearly four minutes, and the Buckeyes went on a 10-0 run culminating in a nearly half-court alley-oop from Thornton to Gayle.
The game was tied at 19 points, but the Buckeyes' freshmen were the next source of fun. Freshman guard Tyson Chatman entered the game and made a 3-point shot, then freshman forward Devin Royal stood up and hit a highly contested mid-range jumper. Battle ended the spurt with a 7-0 run, putting Ohio State up 26-19.
The run quickly grew to 15-2, and Royal's big two-handed slam and Gayle's layup pushed the advantage to 34-21. Virginia Tech narrowed the gap slightly with the help of a triple by Cattore, but Ohio State went into halftime up 36-26 from him.
Latter half
|
Ohio |
status |
Virginia Tech |
|---|---|---|
|
81 |
point |
73 |
|
24-61 (39.3%) |
FGM-FGA (PCT.) |
26-64 (40.6%) |
|
4-17 (23.5%) |
3:00pm to 3:00pm (PCT) |
5-21 (23.8%) |
|
29-32 (90.6%) |
FTM-FTA (PCT) |
16-20 (80%) |
|
12 |
amount of sales |
15 |
|
40 |
total rebounds |
38 |
|
8 |
offensive rebound |
7 |
|
32 |
defensive rebound |
31 |
|
twenty four |
bench point |
19 |
|
Five |
block |
0 |
|
Ten |
steal |
7 |
|
14 |
assist |
16 |
Okpara started the second half with two shots and an alley-oop to start the second half.
Thornton made a three-point play the old-fashioned way, putting Ohio State up 45-32. After the Buckeyes went scoreless for more than three minutes and the Hokies made it 45-36, he scored another goal to push the lead back to 12 points.
Compounding Virginia Tech's problems, both starters, Robbie Beran and Lynn Kidd, each picked up their fourth fouls before nine minutes had passed in the second half. Ohio State completed the double bonus with 10 minutes, 52 seconds left.
However, Pedulla scored six straight points for the Hokies, and the lead began to narrow. Two free throws by Cattore made it 54-48, Bonner made a triple, then two free throws gave Ohio State five straight points, but another 3-point play from Pedulla led to a 59-53 lead. was again at 6 points.
Much of the second half was spent at the free throw line for both teams. A total of 32 fouls were called, and the Buckeyes were 26-of-28 from the stripe in the second period compared to 14-of-17 for Virginia Tech.
Okpara's layup gave Ohio State a 65-58 lead, but the Hokies again chipped away. With the deficit close to four points, Kidd fouled and made a layup to make the score 67-64. Battle's two free throws made it 69-64 with 3:35 left.
But the Buckeyes defense started stringing together stops again, and Okpala's dunk shook Value City Arena. Thornton drew a foul but left the game with an injury with less than two minutes remaining, and Okpara took his place, making the free throws to extend the lead to 72-64.
Virginia Tech cut the lead to six points three times after that, but never got back within five points.
Ohio State advances to play the winner of No. 1 seed Wake Forest and No. 4 seed Georgia State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. If the Demon Deacons win, the Buckeyes will play. For the Bulldogs, OSU will play its final game at Value City Arena this year.
game memo
-
Virginia Tech's 26 first-half points were the fewest points allowed by Ohio State since Jan. 20, when they held Penn State to 19 points in the opener.
-
Okpala had a blocked shot in 42 consecutive games, extending his school record. Ken Johnson previously held the highest standard of 40.
-
Thornton, who missed the final 10 minutes of Ohio State's first-round NIT game with a sprained ankle, was clutching the middle of his right leg after leaving with the injury. Jake Diebler was hit in the thigh after the game, but he said he would work with a trainer to be able to return for the Buckeyes' next game.
