Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Fade Down Stretch - Fall to Hawkeyes
By John Porentas
Michigan's defeat of Wisconsin earlier in the day turned the game between the Hawkeyes (15-5, 5-2 Big Ten) and Buckeyes (14-3, 4-3 Big Ten) into a battle for a share of first place in the league standings. The winner would be in a four-way tie for the conference lead, the loser in fifth. When it came down to crunch time, the Hawkeyes played like a first-place team, the Buckeyes didn't.
Ohio State led by four at 57-53 midway through the second half, but Iowa outscored them 14-5 over the last 9:20 to claim the win and a share of the Big Ten conference lead with a 67-62 win that kept them undefeated at home this season.
Ohio State scored just one field goal over the last 9:20, a three-point goal by Ron Lewis. Lewis' shot capped a 9-1 run that gave the Buckeyes their biggest lead of the game. His shot was OSU's ninth three pointer of the game in 18 attempts. From that point on, when the game and a share of the Big Ten lead was on the line, the Buckeyes went 0-6 from three point range and coincidently, 0-6 from the field as the Buckeyes failed completely to get opportunities for Terence Dials as the game wound down.
The final insult came when OSU guard Ron Lewis simply dropped a pass from Jamar Butler for an unforced turnover with 22 second remaining and the Buckeyes trailing by three. With the miscue the Buckeyes went from a chance to tie to no chance to win.
"I just lost the ball," said Lewis.
"He didn't foul me, nothing happened, I just lost the ball. I was probably trying to make the play before I caught the ball."
Lewis' gaff was the final dagger, but the game was really decided by OSU's inability to make shots over the last seven minutes of the game. Following the game the Buckeyes lamented their lack of ability to hit shots.
"We got great looks. I take nothing from Iowa, they played a great game, but we got great looks, we just didn't hit. That's the thing about basketball. You have to make shots to win," said Lewis.
"We take those shots every game, the same shots," added Je'Kel Foster.
Iowa looked like it might make a one-sided game of it early, getting out nine point lead at 30-21 thanks to some hot shooting with guard Adam Haluska leading the way. The Hawkeyes hit 14 of their first 21 attempts from the field. Haluska had 12 points in the first six-and-a-half minutes of play. Iowa led by nine with 8:54 on the clock, but the Buckeyes were able to rally back behind strong perimeter defense that produced turnovers and effective three point shooting. OSU out scored Iowa 13-6 over the remainder of the half to pull to with four at intermission.
OSU center Terence Dials was very effective in the first half, registering 14 of OSU's 36 points, all of them in the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the game, but scored two the entire second half. OSU was unable to get the ball down to him in the post, particularly in the second half.
"I was able to get a couple of quick fouls on Erek Hansen. I thought we were golden from that point on," said Dials of his early success.
"We always try to get it inside. I don't know for one reason or another why it didn't come it. I don't know."
"In the first half they were playing one-on-one defense on him and he was scoring consistently," explained Foster.
"This is the Big Ten. If a man's scoring like that there are going to be adjustments to stop him, to slow him down some. The came out with good adjustments on Terence."
With Dials out of the picture, it was up to the OSU perimeter offense to carry the day, but the 0-6 finish from three point range left them losers and looking up in the standings at the winners.
"It was very reminiscent of the Michigan State game," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta.
"We couldn't put the ball in the basket down the stretch. We got some great looks.
"If you look back, Matt's (Sylvester) shot in the corner, Ron's (Lewis) shot in the corner, Je'Kel's (Foster) shot from the wing, Je'Kel's shot from on top, those are wide open shots we didn't make. I'd take those shots again."
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