Men's Basketball
Turner Sparks Second-Half Surge as Bucks Bury Dukes 72-44
By Brandon CastelWhen Ohio State Head Coach Thad Matta said James Madison would be a step up from playing Alcorn State in the season-opener, either his players didn't believe him or they simply weren't paying attention.
After weathering a hot start by the Buckeyes (2-0) in the opening four minutes of the game, the Dukes were able to stay in the game the rest of the first half thanks to cold-shooting by heavily-favored Ohio State.
"We came out a little bit flat. We weren't competing the way we needed to defensively," said OSU Head Coach Thad Matta.
"We made some shots early but after that the lid was on the basket."
Evan Turner
Photo by Jim DavidsonBut the lid wasn't on the basket for Evan Turner, who followed up his triple-double Monday (the second in school history) with 24 points, 17 rebounds and four assists against JMU Thursday as the Buckeyes pulled away for a 72-44 win thanks to a 38-19 second half in which the Dukes went just 1-of-13 from behind the arc.
"We're going to be a really good three-point shooting team, but you wouldn't know that tonight," James Madison coach Matt Brady said after the game.
"If we made 10 more threes we're in the game. Other than that I don't see any way we would have competed with them."
The Buckeyes took an early 10-2 lead to open the game behind three baskets from sophomore William Buford, but quickly found themselves in a dogfight with, of all teams, the Dukes after Buford went to the bench to get some rest.
"Will got off to a great start, but then we sat him for four minutes. He didn't practice a couple days this week because he was sick as sick can be," Matta said.
"He lost about five or six pounds, and he was fine tonight but he lost a little strength."
With Buford on the bench, James Madison rallied to tie the game at 16 thanks to three-balls by guard Darren White and forward Matt Parker.
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes continued to settle for jump shots and went 1-for-7 from behind the arc in the first half.
"We shot shots tonight that we don't practice," Matta said, "We need to be more disciplined offensively."
Leading by just two points at 20-18 with 5:29 to play in the first half, the Buckeyes finally started to attack the basket. First it was Turner slicing through the defense for a layup then Kyle Madsen – who started his second straight game – got to the free throw line. David Lighty and Buford each followed with layups, but the Dukes just wouldn't go away.
"For the first 20 minutes, we did what we wanted to do," Brady said.
Dallas Lauderdale
Photo by Jim DavidsonOhio State took a 7-point lead on a thunderous two-handed dunk by Dallas Lauderdale – playing with a pad on his right hand after missing the season-opener – but JMU came right back with a three by Ohio-native Julius Wells, a high school teammate of Buford's at Toledo Libby.
The Dukes were within six points with under a minute to play in the first half, with a chance to cut it to three points on a trey by freshman forward Trevor Flores. Instead, the ball rattled out, the Buckeyes got it at the other end and Turner pulled up for a three-pointer from the top of the arc that made it a 34-25 game going into the locker rooms at half time.
"We missed an open three on a kick out. If that goes in and Evan Turner doesn't come down and hit a three, it's a three-point game at the half," Brady said.
"It probably wouldn't have changed the outcome, but it would have kept us in it a little longer."
Instead, the game got away quickly as the Buckeyes tightened their defense in the second half, holding JMU to 24 percent shooting from the floor and 7.7 percent shooting from behind the arc.
"Our defensive intensity picked up," said Turner, who has 17 rebounds in each of his first two games this season.
"We were sitting back saying, ‘You make the first move and we'll counter,' but it's hard to counter when they are attacking."
Despite the fact James Madison was playing without two of its best players – Columbus native Devon Moore (torn ACL) and 6-10 junior Denzel Bowles, it was still an important test for the Buckeyes as they prepare to for a much larger step-up in competition next week when they facing North Carolina on Nov. 19 at Madison Square Garden.
"It's North Carolina. That's a powerhouse," Turner said.
"They know how to win. It's a different caliber of players, they have a whole roster of All-Americans."
Game Notes:
- The Buckeyes have won 65 of their last 66 games against unranked opponents in Columbus (61 in Value City Arena, 3 in St. John Arena and 1 in Nationwide Arena). Their last loss to an unranked team was vs. West Virginia, Dec. 27, 2008 (76-48).
- Turner passed the 900-point career mark as a Buckeye with a layup three minutes into the first half. He now has 923 career points.
- Junior forward Dallas Lauderdale was cleared to play tonight and came off the bench, playing his first minutes of the season with 13. He suffered a broken bone in his right hand during the 2009-10 preseason workouts.
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