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Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Earn Tough Road Victory Over Iowa State
By John Porentas

Iowa State (6-3) led most the way, and led by eight with just 6:40 to play, but the No. 25 Buckeyes (7-0) outscored the Cyclones 18-7 from that point on to close out the game as 70-67 winners on the road at Des Moines, Iowa, at Wells Fargo Arena.

"This was a tremendous win for our guys," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta.

"I couldn't be prouder of the effort that they were able to sustain. As we told our guys going into this game, I think Iowa State is the best team we've gone against because they've got so many guys."

Iowa State's 6-10 freshman forward Shawn Taggart came off the bench to go five-for-five in the first half and help Iowa State to a 39-32 half time lead. Iowa State outscored Ohio State 22-10 in the paint in the first half.

The inside domination by the Cyclones was offset by four-of-five shooting from three point range by OSU senior guard Je'Kel Foster and 10 first-half points by OSU senior center Terence Dials to keep the Buckeyes close. The Buckeyes shot just 38.7% from the field in the first half, turned the ball over seven times and gave up five steals to the Cyclone defense.

The Buckeyes rallied to take a lead early in the second half when a jump shot by Terence Dials put them up 45-44 with 14:43 left to play. OSU managed the run when they switched to a zone defense after having played the entire first half in a man-to-man defense.

"We switched up some defenses," said OSU senior forward J. J. Sullinger.

"We tried to give different looks and tried to keep them guessing because anytime those guys get comfortable they make extraordinary plays. They're a great group of guys and we knew we had to try and keep them on their heels as much as possible if we wanted to win the game."

Matta's explanation for the zone was much simpler.

"We were having a hard time guarding," Matta said.

"It was just a matter of changing up and slowing them down. We knew we were going to play it, we just didn't know when."

With OSU leading 48-47, however, the Cyclones went on a 13-4 run to take an eight point lead at 60-52 with 6:40 remaining in the game. The Buckeyes were one-of-eight from the field during the Iowa State run and committed three turnovers.

From that point on, it was Iowa State's turn to go cold from the field. The Cyclones made just one-of-nine attempts from the field over the last 6:40 and the Buckeyes took full advantage.

"We just had to start making stops," said Sullinger of the OSU defensive effort that fueled the run.

While the Cyclones were struggling on offense, OSU guards Ron Lewis and Foster combined for 15 points over the last 6:40. Lewis knocked down five free throws and added a hoop, and Foster three free throws and three baskets. Lewis got himself to the line by taking advantage of mismatches on the baseline. Lewis took advantage and simply put the ball on the floor to either score a basket or draw a foul.

"Basically it was a big man on the baseline," said Foster.

"Every time I saw a big man come at me I knew I could drive every time. That was really the key to our success, just getting past the defender and just being able to finish layups."

"What they started doing to us was extending on us so far out that we had to go on it," said Matta. "We were trying to drive more (late in the game)."

Foster led all scorers with a career-high 28 points that came on six-of-eight shooting from three point range and four-of-four shooting from the free throw line. Foster also added three two-point baskets and was nine-of-12 overall from the field. Sullinger was the leading rebounder in the game with nine to go with his seven points. Dials and Lewis were also double-figure scorers with 14 and 13 points respectively. Iowa State had five players in double figures, led by Curtis Stinson with 17.

The Buckeyes outrebounded Iowa State by a 39-29 count and Ohio State outscored Iowa State 16-7 from the free throw line. OSU hit 16-of-20 from the line (80%) to shoot 80% from the line for the second straight game. Iowa State shot just 53.8% from the free throw line, making just seven-of-13.

"We had some free throw opportunities that we did get. That's how it goes," said ISU Head Coach Wayne Morgan.

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