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Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Survive Last-Second Shot, Stay Undefeated
By Brandon Castel

Saturday’s game in Evanston could not have unfolded any better for Northwestern. The Wildcats came one shot away from knocking off the top-ranked Buckeyes, but still fell short.

Jared Sullinger hit the go-ahead free throw with 3.5 seconds left, and Ohio State (22-0, 9-0 Big Ten) held on for a 58-57 win over the Wildcats (13-8, 3-7) when Drew Crawford’s last-second heave clanged off the side of the rim.

“We just had to play defense,” Sullinger said after scoring 21 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

“Our defense was going to carry us through.”

Fresh off their blowout win over Purdue in Columbus, the Buckeyes seemed frustrated by the slow tempo of Saturday’s game. Northwestern made a number of big shots in the final second or two of the shot clock.

Despite playing without leading-scorer John Shurna (out with a concussion), the Wildcats trailed by just two points at halftime thanks to a very lackluster first half by the undefeated Buckeyes. The Wildcats seemed to lull them to sleep with their monotonous half-court offense, and the Ohio State finished with a season-low 27 points in the first half.

“I give Northwestern a ton of credit,” OSU Head Coach Thad Matta said immediately following the win.

“They brought the shot-lock into every possession. We told our guys they were playing faster this year. I think the difference was our toughness.”

The Buckeyes did a much better job offensively in the second-half. They made four of their first five shots from the floor to start the second half and used a 14-4 run to a 41-29 lead with 13:49 to go.

They were still leading by 12 with 11:48 to play, but a fluky 7-point possession allowed Northwestern right back in the game.

After Northwester hit a three, OSU center Dallas Lauderdale was hit with an intentional foul for throwing an elbow while boxing out in the paint. The Wildcats hit one free throw but also got the ball. JerShonn Cobb knocked down another three to turn a 12-point OSU lead into a five-point game.

“I thought the critical thing in the second half was that 7-point play,” Matta said.

The Wildcats also out-rebounded Ohio State 31-20, including a 14-3 advantage on the offensive glass. They grabbed a number of long rebounds off missed threes in the second half, including one that led to a three by Michael Thompson on the next possession.

That cut the game to 53-49, and Alex Marcotullio made it a one-point game with under five minutes to play when he hit another three following a pair of missed free throws by senior David Lighty. The Buckeyes missed six of their last eight free throws, which allowed Thompson to give Northwestern a 55-54 lead on a three-ball with less than four minutes to play.

Diebler responded with his first three of the game at the other end to put the Buckeyes back on top, but Thompson tied the game at 57 on a driving floater over Lighty at the end of the shot clock.

Lighty would turn out to be the hero, however, as he stole the ball on a cut to the basket that could have given Northwestern the lead in the final minute.

“It’s always Dave,” Sullinger said of the fifth-year senior.

“Dave is always in the play. He’s always playing defense. He’s a great defender.”

Sullinger was fouled inside at the other end. He split a pair of free throws, but that ending up being the difference in the game, as the Buckeyes avoided their first loss of the season.

“You’ve just got to keep playing through the frustration,” Sullinger said.

“People going to try to grab me, bully me…we just have to keep playing through it.”

With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 22-0 for the second time in school history, tying the 1961-62 team for the 5th-best undefeated start by any Big Ten team.

Freshman point guard Aaron Craft finished second on the team with 13 points and William Buford added 11. Thompson led Northwestern with 16 points and eight assists, while Mike Capocci added 11 in place of Shurna.

Box Score
Game P:lay by Play
Season Stats Year to Date

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