Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Hold on For Win Over Cal
By James CrepeaNEW YORK - With New York basketball fans clamoring for the NBA’s free agency period to start on July 1, their eyes are set on Ohio’s own LeBron James.
While dreams of seeing Cleveland’s All-Star forward donning a Knicks jersey will have to wait another 222 days, another product of the Buckeye state made an appearance at Madison Square Garden.
The No. 15 Ohio State men’s basketball team faced No. 13 California in the consolation game of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer on Friday.
OSU junior swingman Evan Turner had his fourth straight double-double to start the season, leading the Buckeyes (3-1) to a 76-70 victory over the Golden Bears (2-2).
“Just happy we won,” Turner said. “We’ve got a good stretch of games coming up and it’s great motivation to keep going and go strong into the Big Ten Conference games.”
Such a feat to start a season has not been accomplished by an Ohio State player in almost 30 years. Clark Kellogg started the 1980-81 season with double doubles in five-consecutive games.
Terence Dials, the 2006 Big Ten Player of the Year, was the last Buckeye to post four-consecutive double-doubles, he had five during games in Feb. 2006.
Turner led the way for the Buckeyes with 26 points, shooting 9 for 14 from the field, and added 14 rebounds and six assists.
The Buckeyes opened up a 24-point lead with 15:37 remaining but the Bears clawed back, cutting the lead down to eight in less than five minutes.
“Uncle Mo came to town on California’s side,” Turner said. “They definitely fed off that. “Fortunately we are mature enough to keep a lead. Last year at this time we probably wouldn’t have kept the lead.”
OSU was able to stop Cal’s run, thanks largely to Turner who was the only Buckeye to score a field goal in the final 15:37.
“He’s a guy that we’ve got to lean on at times to kind of carry us through,” coach Thad Matta said. “I was very pleased with the way he was finishing down the stretch for us.”
As for why the Bears, led by senior guard Jerome Randle who tied Turner with a game-high 26 points, were able to go on a 20-4 run so quickly, redshirt junior David Lighty thought the Buckeyes got a little complacent.
“I would say we kind of let our foot off the gas,” Lighty said. “We kind of started coasting a little bit.
“We weren’t communicating as much as we should’ve been, that’s when they came back and had that little run going on there and that’s something we have to work on not happening.”
Lighty finished with 11 points (4-for-8 FG).
OSU had a 13-point lead at halftime of Friday’s game thanks to in large part to their defensive play.
Dallas Lauderdale made his first start of the season for OSU and had four blocks in the first half. Along with a strong zone defense which held Cal to 35.7 percent (10 for 28) shooting.
“It helps out a ton with his length and athleticism and size,” Lighty said. “It allows us to pressure the ball a little bit more and gamble a bit more with him back there altering shots with his defense.”
Lauderdale tied his career-high with seven blocks and also scored eight points.
“I think this was a great test to see where I was at,” Lauderdale said. “I feel I got better through the course of the tournament and I just have to keep getting better from here.”
Lauderdale, the Buckeyes' starting center, missed the season opener against Alcorn State while recovering from a broken bone in his right hand he suffered Oct. 12.
He had been practicing with a protective pad on the hand but did not wear the pad in New York, saying he thought he was being “passive” when he was wearing it.
The veteran Buckeyes earned a win against a ranked opponent Friday but between shooting poorly against No. 4/6 North Carolina Thursday and becoming lax on defense Friday, one could say the veteran Buckeyes have some issues, not Matta.
“Issues is a strong word in November,” he said.
Notes:
After leaving New York 1-1 and 3-1 for the season the Buckeyes return home to Columbus and face Lipscomb Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Value City Arena.
Four Buckeyes were in double figures: Turner (26), Jon Diebler (14), William Buford (12) and Lighty (11).
OSU held Cal to less than 40 percent (26-for-67) from the floor (10-for-26 from 3-point range.
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