OHIO STATE 91 YOUNGSTOWN STATE 57
Buckeyes done with appetizers
No. 2 North Carolina next for untested Ohio State
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ohio State's Jamar Butler comes up with a steal in the second half.
Now for some meat to go with those, er, tomatoes.
The Ohio State men?s basketball team devoured the last of the vegetable tray ? for now ? with a 91-57 victory over Youngstown State last night in Nationwide Arena.
Five-star fare is next. The fourthranked Buckeyes (6-0), after six consecutive home wins by an average of 26 points over mid-major opponents, play at No. 2 North Carolina on Wednesday. The Tar Heels will be their first ranked opponent.
"I?m curious to see how we play," guard Ron Lewis said. "It?s a big step for us. It?s on national television and it?ll really tell what type of team we are, up against a great team."
Lewis was one of five Buckeyes to score in double figures against the Penguins (2-4), who fell behind by double figures in the first nine minutes, trailed by as many as 32 points before halftime and never recovered.
Ivan Harris scored 19 points to lead Ohio State, but it was the tag-team scoring effort of Daequan Cook, Matt Terwilliger and Lewis that ignited the Buckeyes at the outset.
Cook finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his first career doubledouble, Lewis had 16 points and Terwilliger a career-high 12, including his first three-point basket.
John Barber led Youngstown State with 16 points.
Harris, Cook and Terwilliger did their damage off the bench but played 19 minutes or more in coach Thad Matta?s equitable rotation.
"I think you can go through all six games and we?ve had some moments where everybody?s given us something that?s been very productive for our system," Matta said. "Now the big thing is continuing to build that and alleviating the careless plays."
Cook came off the bench and hit four of his first five shots, including three threepointers, to get the rout started. Cook, who finished the half with 15 points, had 11 in a little more than four minutes as the Buckeyes took a 20-12 lead.
Terwilliger flamed next, scoring 10 points in less than three minutes as the margin ballooned to 34-14. His three from the right wing with 6:41 left capped the burst.
"I thought (the defender) was going to jump out," Terwilliger said. "He didn?t, so I just let it fly."
After the Penguins narrowed their deficit to 20 points with 2:24 remaining, Lewis scored 10 points in a little more than a minute on a trio of three-pointers and a free throw.
"It goes back to our point guards," Lewis said, speaking of Mike Conley Jr. and Jamar Butler, who combined for 14 assists and only three turnovers. "Jamar and Mike do a great job of finding us. Our job is to knock the shots down."
The Buckeyes were still without 7-foot freshman Greg Oden, but he appeared to have cleared another hurdle in his return from surgery on his right wrist. He wore no brace on the wrist during the game, gently slapped some low-fives with the hand during pregame warm-ups and worked on its flexibility while sitting on the bench, using his left hand to pull back the fingers on his right.
"I?d feel better if Greg was healthy and we were going to North Carolina," said Matta, who said Oden will not play against the Tar Heels. "But this is a unique opportunity for us at this stage.
"They have a great basketball team. It will be a great environment. We?ll go down and play and try to get a feel for where we are after that."
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I'll like them better when I see a certain 7 foot + body in one... Really looking forward to UNC, they have superior athletes too, you gotta love the matchup. We will need to be careful inside with them, can't let them just stuff it into the post.
