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Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Too Much for Norfolk State
By John Porentas

Six Buckeyes scored in double figures as Ohio State (5-0) had little trouble earning a 92-59 win over Norfolk State (2-5) in front of 12, 406 at Value City Arena.

"We got our hats handed to us today," said Norfolk State Head Coach Dwight Freeman.

"Those guys got after it, they got offensive rebounds, they made the open shots, hit threes, and we were kind of inept on the offensive end."

The Buckeyes got off to a relatively slow start offensively, missing shots early in the first half that have been falling in recent games, and turning the ball over in the face a zone defense from the Spartans that made it tough to get the ball down low.

"The zone makes that a bit more difficult because the zone is packed in and it's harder to get the ball inside to Terence (Dials) when they're playing a zone, so we tried to get some ball movement and find a way to get it into him," said OSU point guard Jamar Butler.

The Buckeyes led by just three at 23-20 with 5:02 remaining in the the first half, but a 14-0 run extended OSU's lead to 17 with 42 seconds left in the half and for all intents and purposes ended the game.

The Spartans would get no closer than 13 in the second half when a jump shot by Calvin Brown cut OSU's lead to 37-24 early in the second frame, but the Buckeye were able to extend their lead with a a withering defensive effort and some deadly shooting from the free throw line. Ohio State earned 30 trips to the line against Norfolk State and made 24 of those attempts for an 80% free throw percentage.

"I didn't want us to let up on the defense, and 22 points in the first half I was pleased with that, the fact that we were able to continue to defend them," said Matta.

"As I told the team yesterday, we've probably shot more free throws since the season end last year than we did all of last season.

"I've always said that free throw shooting can be contagious. When you've got guys stepping up there and knocking them down early in the game, that's important. You look to see them making them at the end as well. We're going to continue to shoot them because that's something we're good at," said Matta of OSU's success at the free throw line.

OSU has struggled some with turnovers in the early going this season, and did so in the first half against the Spartans, turning the ball over nine times. In the second half, however, OSU was able to limit their turnovers to just four.

"In the first half we were playing a little bit too fast," said Butler.

"The second half coach told us to slow down and execute our offense. I think we did a good job of that in the second half and cut down on our turnovers."

"I thought in the second half we did a better job of moving the ball, making extra passes, and guys were ready to shoot the basketball," added Matta.

The Buckeye shot 47% in the game, 43.5% in the first half and 50.0% in the second. Over half of OSU's field goal attempts came from three point range (32 three point attempts, 57 total field goal attempts) which to at least some extent reduced OSU's shooting efficiency.

"Tonight that was the shot they were giving us. They packed it in a little bit. I don't want to live and die by the three, but that's what was there for us," said Matta.

"The shots we got were good shots," said J. J. Sullinger.

"We got good shots that weren't forced off penetration. Anytime you get threes off penetration you're going to shoot them. They're good shots, they're good for us.

"Coach told us at the time outs and during half time to keep shooting those shots because they were going to fall for us."

Norfolk State's Calvin Brown led all scorers with 16 points, but only one other Spartan, Tony Murphy, reached double figures with 12. Sullinger led the Buckeyes with 15 points. Terence Dials added 13, Ron Lewis 12, Je'Kel Foster 11, and Jamar Butler and Ivan Harris 10 each. Backup center Matt Terwilliger scored four, but brought the crowd to its feet with a thunderous dunk in the second half that had Matta smiling after the game.

"What I saw in Matt tonight was what I've seen in Matt in practice this year," said Matta.

"Matt has grown in mentally and physically. I think that his ability to use his athleticism, he had a nice tip dunk, a nice penetrate and pop and knocked that shot down. I thought he was challenging shots defensively, which is good to see, because if Matt continues to progress, it's going to make us a better basketball team."

Ohio State led by as many as 36 in the second half. Everyone on the OSU roster played in the game and all but walkon Samuel Payne scored.

Ohio State will play again on Wednesday when Belmont comes to the Value City Arena. That game will begin at 8:00 PM.

Box Score

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