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Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Start Fast, Can’t Finish in 71-65 Loss at WVU
By Brandon CastelMORGANTOWN, W. Va. – What looked like it might be an easy win for Ohio State in the first half quickly became a lesson on what it takes to finish games on the road Saturday
All-everything junior Evan Turner scored 13 points in the first half as the 25th-ranked Buckeyes (14-6, 4-3 Big Ten) took a 40-28 lead into the locker rooms, but he was held without a field goal in the second half as No.12 West Virginia (14-3, 4-2 Big East) rallied for a 71-65 victory at WVU Coliseum.
“We’ve just got to finish out the game. That’s regardless of anything. No tricks or anything, we’ve just got to finish out the game,” said Turner, who went 6-of-12 in the first half and 0-for-5 in the second to finish with 18 points for the game.
After getting out to a 14-point lead in the first half, the Buckeyes saw their once-comfortable halftime lead disappear in the flash of a musket muzzle as West Virginia went on a 10-0 run to open the second half.
“We knew there was going to be a tremendous thrust of energy coming from them and we weren’t able to stop it,” said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta said, who saw them nearly pull of a comeback from 20 down at the half against Notre Dame two weeks ago.
After shooting over 55 percent from the field in the first half, the Buckeyes missed their first four shots of the second, and five of their first six. They saw their lead shrink from 40-28 at the half to 42-41 at the 15:29 mark of the second half.
“We came out too relaxed. They came out more greedy on the offensive boards and they just wanted it more,” said OSU sophomore William Buford, who led the Buckeyes with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
The Musketeers out-rebounded Ohio State 20-12 in the second half, including 7-1 on the offensive glass as they outscored the Buckeyes 18-8 in the paint after being outscored 16-6 underneath the basket in the first half.
“We challenged all of them at halftime to go out and do what we do,” WVU Head Coach Bob Huggins said.
“When you get them extended, we didn’t get them extended in the first half, we were able to rebound it a little better offensively as we got their defense a little more extended.”
For the first time since Robbie Hummel dropped 29 points on them at Purdue, the Buckeyes used the 1-3-1 zone for an extended period of time Saturday as they switched back and forth between zone and man on the defensive end of the floor.
The zone forced West Virginia into eight first-half turnovers, but the Mountaineers adjusted in the second half (only two turnovers) as Da’Sean Butler sprung free for a number of big three pointers down the stretch.
“I think the biggest difference was that we ran offense the second half. They came out in a 1-3-1 and we had spent time on a 1-3-1, but I honestly thought they would come out and play man,” said Huggins.
“They probably played 1-3-1 because we haven’t shot it as well here of late, (but) I don’t think they wanted to chase us.”
Butler’s three at the 8:56 mark gave WVU its first lead of the game, but his biggest shot of the game came less than three minutes later when he slipped away from David Lighty in the corner to knock down a step-back three that took it from a one-point game to a four-point game with 6:27 to play.
“Da’Sean’s shot in the corner was huge with the shot clock winding down,” Matta said.
With Butler making big plays down the stretch at one end, Turner was unable to come up with the kind of plays at the other end that has many considering him to be one of the five best players in the country this season.
Despite missing a month with a back injury, Turner orchestrated a magical come-from-behind win at then-No. 6 Purdue, as he scored 23 points in the second half to help overcome a 12-point deficit.
But there would be no magic Saturday in Morgantown. Turner simply could not put the ball in the basket down the stretch against 6-foot-9 forward Devin Ebanks.
“We put Devin on him and told him to guard him,” Huggins said of their second-half strategy against one of the nation’s most versatile players.
“(Turner) is so good at drawing fouls, and he did that tonight, but Devin did a good job staying away from his body.”
Turner still managed to get to the free throw line nine times in the second half, but missed four of them in clutch time, including the front end of a one-and-one and a pair of free throws that would have made it a three-point game with under four minutes to play.
“It’s frustrating because I thought they were going in. There’s not much you can do except keep playing. I’ve hit foul shots like that before in the past but tonight they didn’t go in,” said Turner, who did grab 11 rebounds to go with four assists and two steals.
“If I would have made those foul shots the game probably would have went a different way.”
Instead, the Mountaineers closed out the game on a 14-9 run as they held on for a 71-65 win after Jon Diebler’s desperation three fell harmlessly to the floor with 10 seconds to play.
The Buckeyes are back in conference play Wed. when they travel to Iowa (8:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network).
Game Notes:
* The Buckeyes are now 1-5 on the road this season. They are 12-0 at home and 1-1 on neutral sites.
* The Buckeyes were outscored 43-25 in the second half after outscoring West Virginia 40-28 in the first half.
* Ohio State went 1-of-5 from behind the arc in the second half and 8-of-13 at the free throw line. They were 5-of-9 from long range in the first half and 3-of-3 at the line.
* Thad Matta played only seven players and got 0 points and two rebounds from his bench.
* David Lighty and Jon Diebler combined for 0 rebounds in 72 total minutes.
* With 18 points and 11 rebounds Evan Turner recorded eighth double-double of the season against the Mountaineers and 19th of his career. It was his second double-double since returned from the injured back.
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