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Ohio State 81, Chicago State 56 (Final)

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Ohio State 81, Chicago St 52

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Je'Kel Foster and Ron Lewis each scored 16 points and Ohio State used a 19-0 first-half run to beat Chicago State 81-52 Sunday in the season opener for both teams.

The Buckeyes, returning all five starters from a team that went 20-12 a year ago, opened the scoring on Foster's 3-pointer in the opening seconds and never trailed.

Ivan Harris added 12 points and Sylvester Mayes and Terence Dials each had 11. Mayes, a junior college transfer making his first Ohio State start, also had nine assists and four steals.The Buckeyes hit 56 percent of their shots from the field, including 7 of 17 3-pointers.

Camron Clay had 13 points and 10 rebounds and was the lone Chicago State player in double figures.

Aaron Williams' dunk off an alley-oop pass from Royce Parran cut Ohio State's lead to 7-4 at the 16:31 mark of the first half, but the Cougars would not score again until Michael Henderson's 15-foot jumper with 10:04 left in the half.

Foster hit two 3-pointers, Mayes hit one, and Lewis and Dials each scored five points during the spurt.

The Buckeyes hit 7-of-9 from the field, including 3 of 4 3-pointers, during the run. They didn't have a turnover and outrebounded Chicago State 6-2. The Cougars missed all six of their shots from the field and had two turnovers over the 6½-minute span.

Ahead 40-19 at the half, Ohio State got off to a sluggish start in the second half but never allowed the Cougars to get closer than 19 points.

J.J. Sullinger had nine points and 11 rebounds for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State was playing without starting point guard Jamar Butler and backup center Matt Terwilliger. Both were suspended for the season-opener for playing in a charity three-on-three tournament last spring, violating NCAA bylaws regarding organized competitions outside of the college season. Both will return for Tuesday night's game against Butler.
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What did I like:
- Mayes' nine assists
- Sullinger's eleven rebounds
- Foster's three point shooting
- The run we made in the second part of the first half
- Players diving for loose balls (Thanks Jent :biggrin:)

What didn't I like:
- Dials getting a foul at the end of the first half with seconds to go
- Occasional sloppy play when on transition
- Free throw shooting!
*Lewis can do better than he did
*I thought JJ had changed up his shooting style so the ball didn't arc as much?

Easy game as we totally outmatched and outplayed Chicago State. The Butler game will definitely test our guys a lot more than this game did. Go Bucks! :osu4:
 
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Sullinger really impressed me. He's the type of player that gets the loose balls, tough rebounds, bruises up some big guys - kind of like George Reese. I definitely think it's a better line up with him in the game instead of Sylvester (nothing against Matt). However, I think bringing him in off of the bench is good. It gives the team a lift 5-8 minutes into the game.
 
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Fantastic stuff out of Mayes and Lewis. Those two are outstanding pickups. Lewis is such a matchup problem. We have an absurd amount of athleticism on this team, with Mayes, Foster, Sullinger, etc. It's like Matta is building a serious program or something :biggrin:

I was very glad this game was out of hand early, b/c it gave Bell a lot of PT. He clearly has a ways to go to be a serviceable backup, so gaining experience (and watching a lot more film on himself as a result) will help him improve faster.

I wonder if Matta was getting some extra reps and thus film review for Sylvester. Sullinger seems to be a much better player. Sylvester is too careless at times (tho that seemed to run rampant today... I'm confident that some of it was just letting down b/c we were up by a million immediately).

DVR is so great. Fastforwarding thru all of the timeouts and commercials makes basketball a much faster game :)
 
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Watching Dials beat everyone up the court on the fast break was classic. I think the announcer was right:

"Dials probably sprinted up court on the fast break b/c he knew it was the only way he was gonna get the ball"

(for those who missed it, we barely used our half-court offense in the first 8-10 min)
 
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There definitely appears to be good things in the future of our team. Of course I am going to say you can't read too much into this game as our opponent was pathetic, but we got the young guys experience, the old guys more PT to build cohesiveness, and valuable film to study. Great job today Bucks :biggrin:
 
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scout.com (free)

11/21/05

Buckeyes Cruise Past Chicago State, 81-52

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Ron Lewis

By Dave Biddle
Assistant Editor
Date: Nov 20, 2005

Ohio State opened the 2005-06 men's basketball season with an 81-52 drubbing of visiting Chicago State on Sunday. It was a very good debut for OSU guards Ron Lewis and Sylvester Mayes. We have the game story, including comments from OSU head coach Thad Matta, as well as Lewis and Mayes.

Ohio State opened up the 2005-06 men’s basketball season with a convincing 81-52 victory over visiting Chicago State on Sunday.
The Buckeyes (1-0) were led by guards Ron Lewis and Je’Kel Foster who finished with 16 points apiece.

The Cougars (0-1) were paced by junior forward Camron Clay with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Also for OSU, junior forward Ivan Harris had 12 points, senior center Terence Dials had 11 points and seven rebounds, junior guard Sylvester Mayes – playing his first game at OSU – finished with 11 points and a game-high nine assists, and senior J.J. Sullinger had nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The game was never in doubt as OSU built a big first half lead and never looked back.

“This was a weird game,” OSU head coach Thad Matta said. “We really never got in our offense. We got out to an early lead with our transition. They were trying to run and jump and we were able to get some easy looks. We just took what they gave us today.”

It was a fine debut for Lewis – a Columbus native who transferred from Bowling Green last year.

“I thought Ron played well,” Matta said. “He was patient with what he was doing offensively. And that’s what we need out of him.”

In the first half, Ohio State jumped out to an 8-4 lead by the first media timeout (15:42). Foster drained a 3-pointer from the corner on OSU’s first possession. That was followed by two free throws from Lewis, a fastbreak bucket from Mayes, and another free throw from Lewis (who lived up to his reputation as an aggressive slasher with six foul shots in the first four minutes of the game).

The Buckeyes then went on an 18-0 run to take a commanding 26-4 lead. The highlights of the spurt were a 3-pointer from Mayes and a resounding dunk from Lewis off a nice pass from Foster. Dials capped the run with a fastbreak lay-up at the 10:29 mark.

By the third media timeout of the half (7:53) the Buckeyes held a 28-9 advantage. They upped that to 37-15 by the 3:08 mark.

The last three minutes of the half turned sloppy with both teams committing multiple turnovers. At halftime, Ohio State led 40-19 with Lewis leading the way with 10 points and Foster right behind with nine markers.

In the early stages of the second half, both teams caught fire from the floor. At the 14:59 mark, OSU’s 21-point margin was still in tact with the score 51-30. Foster scored five quick points to begin the half, Dials also drained a pair of baskets and Lewis continued to be a one-man highlight show with an alley-oop jam from Mayes.

But the Cougars would not go away. They continued to scratch and claw for every point and at the 11:35 mark, Ohio State led 57-35.

But the Buckeyes were too much on this afternoon. Chicago State was able to get as close as 62-41 at the 9:00 mark, but an 8-0 OSU run – with yet another dunk from Lewis mixed in – gave the Buckeyes a 70-41 lead with 7:19 left in the game.

From there, they cruised to what could be the first of many victories this season. After a three year absence from the NCAA Tournament, expectations are high for the veteran Buckeyes and Sunday’s win was a good first step.

Rounding out the scoring for OSU, Matt Sylvester had five points and walk-on freshman guard Sam Payne had one point.

Freshman forward Brayden Bell saw his first taste of college action and went scoreless, but did pull down four rebounds.

Ohio State won the rebounding battle 37-33. But the Buckeyes didn’t have much to boast about playing against a much smaller Chicago State team.

Matta admits that rebounding is still a big concern of his.

“It is,” he said. “I’ve done damn near everything to get us to rebound the basketball better and I need to continue doing that. To Chicago State’s credit, they sent all five guys to the glass. Sometimes I thought they were sending seven.”

As for the alley-opp passes from Mayes to Lewis, OSU fans should get used to seeing more of that this season. The two seem to have already developed an on-court chemistry with each other.

“It’s just him looking at me and me looking at him,” Mayes said. “There’s no signal. When the opportunity is there, we take it.”

Mayes’ nine assists proved he can run the point well.

“I believe in my teammates,” Mayes said. “If they have open shots, I am going to get them the ball and they are going to hit their shots. Hopefully they’ll keep getting open and my nine assists will go up.”

Foster was smooth from 3-point range, knocking down four of his five attempts.

“We did a good job of sharing the ball,” Foster said. “I just did a good job of taking my time and knocking down my shots."

Notes

Ohio State is now 88-19 all time in home openers and 84-23 in season openers. … The Buckeyes are now 3-0 all time against Chicago State. The teams also played in 1990 (112-54) and 1991 (116-44). … Ohio State went with a starting lineup of Dials, Sylvester, Lewis, Foster and Mayes.

OSU sophomores Matt Terwilliger and Jamar Butler were suspended for the opener for participating in a charity 3-on-3 tournament during the offseason. … Ohio State is now 6-1 all time against Mid-Continent Conference foes, with the lone loss coming to Valparaiso in the Great Alaskan Shootout in 2000. … The Buckeyes are now 92-22 all time at Value City Arena, which opened in 1998. … Matta is now 6-0 as a head coach in season openers, including one season at Butler and three seasons at Xavier. ... Ohio State gets back in action against Butler (Matta’s alma mater) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Value City Arena (ESPN Plus, Ch. 10 in Columbus).
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Notes from Section 404:

It's only one game against a weak opponent, so its hard to get a good read on the team. Not much new as far as revelations about the team, but a couple of notes:

Matt Sylvester can NOT be put against a power forward on defense. He is just outmatched in height, weight, and strength. When he was fronting his man, they tossed it over him easily. When he played behind the man, he was not nearly strong enough to keep him out of the paint. It's not a knock on Sylvester, but we cannot have him at the 4 in the Big Ten.

Ivan Harris seemed to go after more rebounds yesterday than almost any game I can remember for him. He only ended up with 2, but he was at least scrumming it up to try to get it. Good sign, IMO. Also nice to see him score from within the 3-point line.

Sylvester Mayes was outstanding. 11 points, 9 assists, great defense. I look forward to seeing this young man play this year.

JJ Sullinger can leap with anyone. Not a new revelation, of course. But seeing him snatch rebounds from above the rim is a sweet sight.

I don't think Ron Lewis made a field goal from outside of two feet from the basketball. No worries about the free throws. He should be better than 4-8. First time in a while (Michael Redd, maybe) that we have a fellow who can slash to the basket and draw contact.

I love Je'Kel Foster, man! What a sweet stroke. Can handle the ball, plays solid defense, and isn't afraid to get on the floor.

Terence Dials was solid, as usual. Picked up at least one cheap foul away from the ball. With the lack of frontcourt depth, we just cannot afford to have him on the bench.

Brayden Bell is young and inexperienced. Isn't strong enough yet to compete on the blocks. Probably not quite ready for significant time against B-10 competition, bt will probably have to play due to lack of depth.

Overall, its hard to complain about a 29 point win. I would like to see us take care of the ball better, but I'm sure its hard to maintain the focus when you're up 26-4. The team seemed to loosen up a little too much and try to force some plays that they would not have in a close game. I'm sure Coach Matta let them know about it.

p.s. Does Matta ever stop coaching? Even in a blowout, he spent every break in the action on the floor with the players and assistants, sometimes none too calmly, either. I love that man!
 
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I agree that it's tough to put Syl (a natural Brent Barry-esque swingman) on a guy like Camron Clay (6-8, 240) who was just a straight-up athlete. Unfortunately, we don't have a great deal of options there defensively, as Harris is less physical still. Perhaps we'll see some minutes with both TDials and Twigs on the floor to counter those matchup issues. Anyway, I liked the starting lineup, and I think when we get into games where we actually have to run an offense (imagine that!), Syl's value on both ends of the floor will go up.

It's a great problem to have, I suppose, but we have eight guys who need to see a lot of floor time; everyone with the exception of Bell, Twigs and Payne absolutely demands minutes. I love the backcourt of Mayes, Foster and Lewis, and it will be interesting to see the different permutations Tuesday with JB back in action. I wasn't sure how comfortable I was going to be with Mayes at the point (and again, it remains to be seen how it will go once we have to operate in the half court), but you can't argue with a 9:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Either way, with the backcourt of Mayes, Kel, JB and Ron, and the frontcourt of TDials, Syl, J.J. and Ivan, I don't see any real weakness. Can't wait for tomorrow night.
 
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Bucky Katt said:
Ivan Harris seemed to go after more rebounds yesterday than almost any game I can remember for him. He only ended up with 2, but he was at least scrumming it up to try to get it. Good sign, IMO. Also nice to see him score from within the 3-point line.
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Did you notice how he was lighting it up from the exact same spot every time? If this kid can start grabbing boards along with hitting the trey then he will prove to be a valuable weapon.


Bucky Katt said:
p.s. Does Matta ever stop coaching? Even in a blowout, he spent every break in the action on the floor with the players and assistants, sometimes none too calmly, either. I love that man!
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He's always on his feet, along with his assistant coach that sits on the end. You can tell how passionate they are about the game :biggrin:
 
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My observations were the following:

1. Mayes can handle the point fine.
2. Lewis is the best scorer on the team.
3. Dials looks like he is in the best shape of his career.
4. We need someone to help Dials with rebounding.
5. Unselfish play.
6. Foster is underrated, he is deadly from the arc.

Its hard to gauge how much improvement we have made since last year facing that type of team. Tuesday will provide a tougher test.
 
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Harris and Sullinger should provide some decent rebounging. Sullinger isn't that tall but he can jump out of the gym, and Ivan seems to be spending more time in the paint both on offense and defense.
 
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