Men's Basketball
OSU Rally Falls Short, Cold Shooting Dooms Buckeyes
By James CrepeaNEW YORK - This is a triple-double Evan Turner wishes he could forget.
After posting the second triple-double in Ohio State history against Alcorn State on Nov. 9 and a double-double against James Madison on Nov. 12, the Buckeye junior had team-highs with 23 points and 11 rebounds on Thursday against No. 4/6 North Carolina; but it was 10 turnovers that proved to be the deciding factor as the Buckeyes fell to the defending national champions 77-73 at Madison Square Garden.
Evan Turner drives to the hoop.
Photo by Jim Davidson“It was a rough night,” Turner said. “I feel as though if I wouldn’t have had any turnovers we probably would’ve won the game.
“Sometimes I might’ve thought about the situation too much, as opposed to whether I should shoot or pass, and travel here or there.”
The Buckeyes’ shooting only compounded their ball control woes.
As their peers in Columbus took part in the annual tradition of jumping in Mirror Lake before the Michigan game, it was questionable whether the temperature of Mirror Lake was going to be colder than the Buckeyes’ shooting from the field.
OSU shot a putrid 29 percent (9 for 31) from the field in the first half, including just one for 10 from 3-point range.
“We just started tying our offense to our defense,” junior Jon Diebler said. “You could tell we were getting frustrated because we got some good looks and the first few games we were knocking those shots down.”
Diebler finished with 17 points on 4-of-13 shooting, with three 3-pointers.
Sophomore William Buford also struggled from behind the arc, ending the night with eight points on three-for-16 shooting (one-for-five from long range)
Dallas Lauderdale registers a block against the Tar Heels
Photo by Jim Davidson“For Evan, I think we make it harder on him when Will and I aren’t knocking shots down from the perimeter because when we’re a threat it usually makes the defense stay home on us and it opens things up for him,” Diebler said.
The Buckeyes trailed by 14 at halftime and despite all their problems nearly made a miraculous comeback.
“The first half we couldn’t get the ball to go in the basket,” coach Thad Matta said. “Shots weren’t falling for us, we had a stretch where I thought we lost our composure and they were able to get to the double-digit lead.
“Finally late second half we started making some shots and got a little rhythm to our offense.”
The Tar Heels led by 11 (71-60) with 1:34 to play but the Buckeyes hit a hot streak, cutting the deficit all the way down to two with 11 seconds to play.
OSU shot 5-for-8 during the final stretch but UNC’s Larry Drew hit two free throws to seal the victory for the Tar Heels.
The teams both finished with 26 made field goals but UNC had eight fewer attempts (61 to 53)
The Buckeyes will have a quick turnaround, playing in the consolation game of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer against No. 13 Cal at 5 p.m. Friday. The Golden Bears lost their semifinal game against No. 25 Syracuse 95-73 on Thursday.
Matta acknowledged that the lack of preparation time will play a role in how Friday’s game plays out but he also knew how close his team was to making an unbelievable comeback.
“One more minute may have been enough,” he said.
Notes:
Redshirt-junior David Lighty was the third Buckeye in double figures, 11 points (4 for 9 with two 3-pointers).
Turner had a team-high four assists.
Four Tar Heels were in double figures; forwards Will Graves (14) and Deon Thompson (15) who added 12 rebounds and guards Marcus Ginyard (13) and Larry Drew (11).
Turner now had 13 career games with 20 or more points and 15 career games with 10 or more rebounds.
Turner has 14 career double-doubles and the Buckeyes are 8-6 in those games. OSU had won six of the last seven games Turner had a double-double before Thursday’s loss.
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