Men's Basketball
Turner Records Rare Triple-Double as OSU opens with 40-point Win
By Brandon CastelCOLUMBUS, Ohio – Evan Turner picked off a pass on the first possession of the game for a breakaway, two-handed dunk as No. 16 Ohio State (1-0) trampled Alcorn State (0-1) in 100-60 blowout victory to open the 2009-10 season.
Evan Turner registers a breakaway dunk on OSU's first possession of the game. Turner recorded just the second triple-double in OSU history.
Photo by Jim Davidson“We did a decent job of sustaining our momentum throughout the game. Whenever you get a sizable lead, one of the concerns was taking care of the basketball and I thought we did that,” said Head Coach Thad Matta, who improved to 10-0 all time and 6-0 at Ohio State in season-openers.
Five Buckeyes scored in double-figures, but the real story of the game was Turner, who recorded the second triple-double in school history with 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists.
“I told you. I told you he would do it,” said Turner’s roommate Jon Diebler as he entered the post-game interview room.
“I’m excited for him. He deserves this more than anyone after all the late nights shooting the ball around. He’s taken huge strides the past couple years and I think a lot of people have seen this (coming) from his freshman and sophomore seasons.”
Having played the wing during his first two seasons in Columbus, Turner opened his junior season playing the point guard spot. After recording 15 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in the team’s exhibition win over Walsh University, the Chicago-native nearly had a triple-double by halftime, as he manhandled the Braves for 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in 19 minutes as the Buckeyes built a 56-28 lead in the first half.
“I didn’t think it would come that quickly, but that’s just the type of player he is,” said Diebler, who led the Buckeyes with 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
“He impacts the game without just scoring. He gets us open shots and luckily tonight we were able to knock them down.”
After scoring the first bucket of the game on the fast break, Turner facilitated the offense with outlet passes to David Lighty – playing his first official game since breaking his foot last December – and Diebler, who knocked down one of his six 3-pointers to give the Buckeyes a 16-5 lead with 14:17 to play in the first half.
“The game got away from us early,” said Alcorn State Head Coach Larry Smith, who watched his team give up 22 field goals on 40 shots in the first half.
“Ohio State was fired up and knocking down shots from the start. We as a team did not block out and do the important things.”
The Buckeyes extended their lead to 25-10 at the 10:08 mark on a layup by senior Kyle Madsen, who started in place of the injured Dallas Lauderdale, but Alcorn State closed the gap to 10 points on back-to-back buckets, including a three-pointer by Jonathan Boyd, who had six treys in the game to lead the Braves with 20 points.
That’s when Ohio State went to work with the fast-break. A Turner rebound led to two free throws for Walter Offutt at the other end. Buford got a defensive rebound and knocked down a three and Lighty came away with a steal that lead to an easy dunk for Turner as the Buckeyes scored nine points in just over a minute, forcing Smith to take a timeout trailing 34-15 with 8:05 to play in the half.
“We had effort but we should have been more aggressive. We are a young team and I had to settle them down,” Smith said.
It wouldn’t matter. Not on this night. The Buckeyes closed out the first half on a 31-13 run as they shot 55 percent from the floor and 42 percent from behind the arc thanks to a 12-0 edge in fast-break points.
“We think with our personnel we can play with anyone in the country. We had a good week of practice and tonight we had guys scoring from everywhere,” Diebler said.
“We have a lot of weapons on this team. Guys can come into the game like Jeremie (Simmons) and Walter and make big shots. When we spread the floor with shooters and have Turner hit the paint, we can play extremely well.”
Turner needed only two assists in the second half to become the first Buckeye to record a triple-double since Dennis Hopson had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Ohio University on Dec. 6, 1986.
He would eventually get it, but it made for some tense moments for the 11,015 fans in attendance. Not because the game was ever in question, Alcorn State never got within 30 points in the second half, but because it took five and a half long minutes from the time Turner picked up his ninth assist until Diebler knocked down a three to get him the triple-double at the 7:03 mark of the second half.
"When you think of all the great players that have come through Ohio State, to be put into a select category like that is obviously a tremendous honor and it speaks volumes to the player he is,” Matta said.
“It's an amazing stat line when you really think about it. He was everywhere tonight, finding the ball and making plays - we need him to do that."
Turner’s 17 rebounds were also the most by a Buckeye since Shun Jenkins also had 17 against Penn State on Feb. 12, 2003.
The Buckeyes will play their second and final game of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer Thursday when they take on James Madison. The Buckeyes are hoping to have Lauderdale back, although Madsen and Zisis Sarikopoulos combined for nine points and eight rebounds in 35 minutes in his absence.
“He’s not been cleared yet, but I’m hoping he plays,” Matta said.
Game Notes:
- Junior guard Evan Turner had the second triple-double in Ohio State history with 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. The only other triple-double was achieved by Dennis Hopson against Ohio University on Dec. 6, 1986.
-Turner's 17 rebounds were the most since Shun Jenkins also had 17 against Penn State on Feb. 12, 2003. He also got his 400th career rebound and now has 415 as a Buckeye.
- Thad Matta is now 10-0 in season openers as a head coach. He is 6-0 at Ohio State after going 1-0 at Butler and 3-0 at Xavier.
- Junior forward David Lighty started the game for Ohio State and had eight points and tied a career high with eight assists. It was his first action since breaking his foot Dec. 22, 2008 against UNC-Asheville.
-With six made 3-point baskets, junior guard Jon Diebler passed Sean Connolly and Neshaun Coleman and into fourth all-time at Ohio State. He has 150 for his career. Diebler scored a game-high 22 points.
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